An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind
by Danshokugakure Literacy Unit
Summary: Meet Mira and Shane. They are two friends, but they have always felt like they were truly enemies. In their whole life, they always resented eachother for some thing or another. How far will they go to find revenge? OC Story--Yaoi involved.
1. Opening MIRA

_**Opening**_:

The slender red-headed woman yawned as she got out of bed and blinked sleep out of her dark bluish green eyes. She stretched and cast a quick glance at the empty spot in the bed next to her, _Hurry up and get back home you idiot._

Sighing, she went to wash her face and brush her teeth, afterwards getting dressed in the light grey robes and black and white stockings she had picked out for today, then wrapping her chin length, except for the thin long tail in the back, hair into a white headdress with black and lace trim. She opened her jewelry box, and stuck her pony tail through a aquamarine jeweled holder and pinned her headdress with a silver crescent moon.

She left the bathroom and went down the hall to a small door decorated with pictures of dragons fighting ninja dogs, "Oi, Karin-chan," she slowly opened the door and snuck inside to the bed with the sleeping reddish golden haired child sleeping in it, Lifting the covers away from the girl, the older woman smiled, "Karin sweetie, it's time to get up, you've got school today remember?"

Bright green eyes shot open at that, and the small girl started running around the room throwing clothes on.

"Easy, easy," the woman laughed, "We have plenty of time." Both of them left the room at that and headed to the kitchen.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, and both soon were at the door, putting on matching blue shoes and exiting their quiet house to enter the streets of the currently lazy city. The woman took Karin to the school, a few blocks away, and waved at her as she left.

Then she stretched her arms over her head, grinning as the village started to slowly wake up on her trek to the small building that held her other pride and joy.

She unlocked the door, and removed the shutters to the outside bar. Nodding to herself she went to the back of the place, and gasped at the mess that was in her kitchen.

Crockery laid smattered on the floor, pots and pans were skewered all over the place except for the back table, where a still tied up, almost naked, blue haired boy was yawning and opening his eyes.

Seeing the woman he quickly closed them shut, hoping that she might go away.

"Wai... Don't give me that! Haru! What the hell?!" she looked around at the mess, "WHAT HAVE I SAID ABOUT BUTTSECKS IN MY KITCHEN?!"

"um..." he chewed his lip, "To clean up afterwards..."

She puffed her cheeks out and placed her hands on her hips, "AND DID YOU?!"

"Uh...no," he said in a very small voice, "B...but I was..."

She went over and untied him, then handed him a broom, "I'm going to the market, and when I come back, you and this mess had better be gone!" with that she huffed out of the kitchen and marched down the street to the food stands, muttering about stupid yaoinobi and their buttsecks on her way.

An hour later she returned to the bar with her groceries, and went to the kitchen, which was so cleaned it sparkled, and she made a mental note to be nice to Haru for a few days.

_He didn't tie himself up after all, _she told herself, _I'll punish the other one later._

"Mira-chan," a voice called out from the front, "Are you open yet?"

"Just a minute!" she called out, putting the bags down and pulled on a apron as she peeked her head out to see the red-haired medic nin, "Oh Yuko! The usual?"

"Yes please, but hurry, there's a few interesting cases at the hospital today and I'll need the energy," she smiled.

Mira went back to the kitchen and prepped the food, and quickly brought out the bowl of ramen for Yuko, plus a bento box, "Here, you may not get any lunch otherwise," she raised an eyebrow, "Interesting cases huh? Does that mean..."

"We can't talk about it yet," Yuko said winking, "Dyzzi hasn't quite given it clearance yet."

Another customer came in then, a woman with shoulder length blue hair sat down a bit aways from Yuko, "Mira-chan!" she said happily, "I'm hungry today! Bring it on!"

"Coming Aleria," Mira said disappearing back into the kitchen, when she came out, she found a very annoyed Yuko taking out a scapel to dissect the apparently [i]very[/i] hungry Aleria chewing on her arm.

"Every damn day!" Yuko said exasperated.

"Allie! Stop that!" Mira said, reaching over and pulling her off, "Hey... NO SASORI if you keep this up!"

That seemed to satiate the girl enough to sit calmly up and eat the ramen instead.

"Sasori's mine anyways!" Yuko said as she paid for the ramen and picked up her bento, "See you later Mira!"

"Uh-unh, he's mine bitch!" Aleria called after her, earning her a whack over the head from Mira, "Aww, what was that for, I was just having fun!"

"You keep it up, and you're going to lose privileges," Mira said crossing her arms, "Now Allie. I have a small question since you closed up last night."

"Gee! Thanks for the ramen! See you later Mira-chan!" Aleria called out as she threw money on the counter and ran away.

"Wai... damnit get back here!" Mira called out, then puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. She sighed then turned back to the bar, "Eh, I'll just ask Neji or Tenten when they get in."

A few more customers came in and she busied herself with serving them as the morning wore on.


	2. Prepping MIRA

_**Prepping**_

"You would think," Mira said as Neji entered the shop, "That as long as you've been here already that you would know better than to leave Shane alone with Haru in the shop."

"I didn't," he said as he sat on the stool across from her, "When I left the place was empty. I had even used the byakugaun to check. How bad was it?"

"Nothing permanent," she sighed handing him his morning order of tea and soba, "I'm just sick and tired of the bar being a private sex playground for everyone."

"Mira-chan!" a blonde girl called out, "One bowl of spicy crab miso ramen!"

"Coming Allora," she called out.

"Tenten had an interesting suggestion," Neji sipped some tea, "She thinks that perhaps Shane and Haru are making a suggestion as to how you should relax."

She grinned, "To think that only a few months ago you were so prudish that you _fainted_."

He glared at her as a green haired boy sat down next to the blond and stammered nervously out his order.

"One pork miso coming up Kaito," Mira smiled gently as she got the order together, "So Neji, you and Tenten think I need to get laid huh."

"It's not just them," Allora noted, "The entire village thinks that," years of training at the circus allowed her to dodge the various crockery thrown at her for that, "What!?"

"In case you've forgotten, I happen to be married," she crossed her arms.

"So? He would say the same thing, and it's been _years_," Allora argued.

"I didn't know Mira had a husband," Kaito quietly said, "Where has he been?" Before anyone could answer a cheery blond appeared.

"Mira!" Shane called out happily as he came up to the bar, "One bowl of the curry pilaf and one bowl of pork miso to go, I got a date with Naruto!"

"Would you like a side of Haru with that?" she asked crossing her arms.

"Oh so that's where he was!" Shane grinned, "We had moved the party and I guess we left him!"

"How did you get in?" Neji asked as he took a bit of his soba.

"Oh that's easy! I had a key made years ago," Shane grinned fishing it out, "And no whips to try and get it back Mira, I'll just get one of my other copies at home."

She was ignoring him, putting together his order, "Y'know Shane, one day I'm going to get you back for all of this."

"You've been saying that since we were kids," he waved as he took the order, "And I'm still waiting on the punishment."

Allora and Kaito hastily paid and left at the sight of Mira's glaring eyes. Both knew from experience that once the red-head lost her temper, things tended to get very ugly very fast.

"Calm down," Neji said quietly, "He only does it because he knows he can get to you."

"And to think I took all those pictures for him," she started to mutter then went to the back.

Neji winced at the sound of smashing crockery and thrown pots coming from the kitchen.

* * *

"We could go kidnap Gaara again," Tenten suggested, "That always seems to cheer you up."

"He asked us not to this month," Mira sighed, "He has a few too many important meetings with the Daimyo. He said he might try and visit tonight though, before all of that started."

Neji and Lee sighed, then glared at each other as Umbra giggled. It was a slow time of the day for the ramen shop and the four had were sitting at the bar and talking.

Further down the bar, the resident medic nin was taking a well deserved break and shamelessly listening in to the conversation, "Hmm," Yuko took a sip of her sake, "What if I told you I know a way to get Shane back."

"Unless it involves sending Naruto to Sasuke, which I really don't want to do considering all the trouble I went to bringing him here, I doubt it'll work," Mira said.

"Not Naruto... Shane. And not Sasuke... Itachi," Yuko took another sip of her sake, "The tsukuyomi."

They all whipped their heads to stare at her.

"That's... ingenious..." Neji breathed.

"But will he do it?" Umbra asked.

Yuko smiled, "Itachi owes me a favor for something I did for him. So Mira, would it suffice?"

"Perfectly, you're hired!" the red-head grinned, "A round of drinks for everyone!"

"Not Lee!" Tenten, Umbra, and Neji said in unison, causing the taijutsu master to bow his head.

"Good, he gets to take pictures of the rest of you drunk," Mira threw him the camera.

"You wouldn't..." Tenten asked, eyes wide.

He responded by giving her a thumbs up.

"You guys are forgetting something," a silver haired woman said as she sat down at the bar, "Shane's the leader of the black ops, hell, he was in charge of all the kidnap missions. How's he gonna fall for something like that?"

"Dyzzi, you just don't want us to be too mean to him," Mira grinned, "I'll go get Kakashi for you..."

The yaoikage mulled it over in her head, "I see nothing, I hear nothing. If you can somehow pull this off, I'm staying far the hell out of it. And Kakashi better be on my desk before you do anything else."

"Of course," Mira said happily, "He should be appearing in town any day now to try and find Naruto anyways. You didn't think that the blond would come to Konoha without _anyone _following him did you?"

"Mira... you left a well placed hint didn't you..." Dyzzi grinned and hugged her, "I... I got to go get ready! I'll summon the dogs and make sure they follow the trail perfectly and confuse anyone else who tries." she started to run off, "Oh! And Mira! Don't be too hard on him! And get yourself laid!"

Her eyebrow twitched, "Does _everyone _in the damn village think that?"

"Yes," Yuko said sipping her sake.


	3. Tsukuyomi SHANE

_**Tsukuyomi**_

The masculine blonde man woke from bed to find that his two lovers were gone. His green eyes turned into the color of j**z as he used his Danshokugan to search for them, but he gained no avail.

He wasn't worried at first, but after thoroughly looking through the entirety of Danshokugakure, he became worried. He then realized that he was almost entirely naked, and decided he was going to get dressed before he started an all out search. He put on his white T-Shirt, and his black pants, and then got ready to go find Dyzzi.

Before he walked into her office, he was surprised to see that Mira wasn't making her annual daily complaints about her ramen tasting like sperm, but decided that maybe today there was some sort of festivity going on he didn't know about.

He checked Dyzzi's office, and found nothing except more of her paperwork. He then found a specific piece of paper that he didn't recognize as a mission he informed her of, and read it briefly.

_Capture Naruto and send him off to Sasuke, as punishment for not following my demands._

He became very angry at this, but wondered ''Why did they not mention Haru?''

He then made his way to the ramen bar, only to find a bunch of empty ramen bowls. Suddenly, his ankle felt pain, and he heard a weird screeching noise.

He looked down, only to see a giant molerat running away with his dead skin in his mouth. ''Tch, at this rate, Danshokugakure might as well declare war on molerats.'' He threw a kunai at the molerat, and checked to see if it was real. He felt odd for checking for such a thing, but something told him he had to. As he checked the body, he noticed he had no organs, just a hollow inside. He then realized what this was all about. ''Release!''

And suddenly it was all back to normal, with an addition of buttsecks in his sight. ''Damnit, Neji. Stop fucking Gaara in the kitchen. This is my playground.'' And then he saw it. He saw Itachi running off like his balls were on fire.

One word struck him.

_Revenge._


	4. Revenge! MIRA

_**Revenge!**_

Mira was heading home when she was grabbed from behind in a headlock, "You bitch!"

"I take it that Itachi was able to get the tsukuyomi on you then," she said, "Serves you right for trashing my place practically every damn day."

"That was too low Mira!" Shane exclaimed, "You have no idea how pissed off I am at you right now... And how come it's okay for your strays to be having buttsecks in that kitchen and not your close friend of _years_."

"They clean up after themselves!" she exclaimed, "You on the other hand have been making my life very difficult since we made gennin!"

He let her go and they faced each other, "You were such a damn mouse that I had to do something to get you out of it. Besides if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have met _him_!"

"So I'm supposed to be thanking you for that until the end of time? He's gone Shane! So where does that leave me? That bar and Karin are all I have left and you keep..."

"You're not the only shinobi to have lost someone!" he snapped, "And what about your promise to Dyzzi and me?"

She closed her eyes, "I haven't forgotten it," she whispered then turned around, walking back to her house.

"It's war Mira! I'm going to get you back for that a hundred times!" pissed off, he turned in the opposite direction, heading to meet Naruto and Haru to plot his next move.

* * *

Her eyebrow twitched as she saw the toilet paper neatly wrapping up the outside of her bar. Then she sighed and started to pull it down.

Effectively getting some sort of gooey green substance all over herself, "If anything, they're efficient," she muttered, working on removing the rest of the toilet paper.

"Oh my," Yuko said as she showed up next to the bar, "I imagine he was relatively pissed."

By this point Mira was covered in enough green gook and toilet paper to make her look like a rather awkward mummy, eliciting several stares from passer-bys and potential customers.

"Fuck." she finally said, "This is going to take me all day, Yuko, you might as well spread the word that I'm not opening."

"Fine sweetie," the medic nin walked away, and Mira eyed the building.

"You've got to admit. If this had happened to anyone else, I'd be laughing my ass off," she sighed, before resuming the cleaning up.

It was late afternoon when she finally effectively finished cleaning up the last of the toilet paper and gook and she saw the next layer of the prank. "Beneath the damn beneath, Shane's really pissed at me."

The whole inside of the bar was painted with obscene faces and fluorescent colors with glue on all of the barstools and bright colorful feathers smattered all over the place. Sighing again, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work on cleaning the store.

The bar finally was cleaned around sunset and she moved into the kitchen and pantry to see if there was any damage there.

Yup. Shane was a perfectionist, gotta give him that. All of the food was just plain gone, and in it's place were little mice figurines. Mice figurines in pink tutus.

"Where the hell did he get that many miniature pink tutus?" she wondered aloud, before collecting them all up and taking them and the rest of the trash to the dumpster outside.

"AH HELL NO!" she exclaimed seeing that the dumpster was on it's side with it's contents littering the alley way. Her bluish green eyes widened, "That wasn't like that when I put the toilet paper in there..." she threw the bag down and turned back to the shop, about to go back inside when the door slammed in her face.

_He locked me out of my own bar! _She stood there in the alleyway for a long moment, chewing her lip.

"Okay fine." she said, clapping her hands and holding them up in mock defeat, "I give up. You win. I'll just go on home now."

She walked away, ignoring the looks from passerbys. When she got home she realized they were staring because the green gook that had fallen on her earlier had dyed her skin orange.


	5. Plotting SHANE

_**Plotting**_

''Okay, Naruto. Let us not stop at childplay. Making her look like an alien was fun and all, but not enough. I want to get where it hurts. I want to make her realize that she should never try to fuck with me again. I want Kei.''

Haru's eyes widened, looking at the man as if he were the devil. ''You can't do that. You know how hard losing him was for her.''

The man looked at the blue haired boy with fire in his eyes. ''That is exactly what I will prey on. This war needs to go all out, and end quick. We need to get something that will make her realize my seriousness of the matter, so that she will give up.''

The blue haired boy was confused. He did not know whether or whether not to go along with the plan. He loved Shane, for sure, but he also cared for Mira.

He didn't think this should go so far so soon, but as he was about to speak in protest, Shane spoke again. ''I know what you are thinking. I simply needed this for a long time. Old problems never die, and I have alot of unfinished business with Mira.''

The jonin decided to speak up. He could not let this go by without a word. ''Shane, I know you have alot of problems you think you need to get revenge for, but this is something really bad. Think about all of the good stuff she did for you.''

''Good stuff?'' He sighed. ''All she ever gave me was problems. Anywhere from no buttsecks in the kitchen, to telling my brother he was vile.''

The jonin didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe that Shane was taking this so seriously. He never saw this side to Shane.. And really... He really didn't like it. He wanted to leave all of this. To go to sleep and wake up when it's all over, but he had to follow Shane. He had to do anything for him. He had to prove his love and loyalty.

Even at the loss of Mira's.

Finally, the blonde boy spoke. ''I... don't understand what is going on... heh. Who is Kei? And what is the big deal about all of this?''

The older blonde felt odd. He really didn't want to bring Naruto or Haru into this, but finding Kei would need a miracle.

Although he was a very, very powerful man, finding Kei was the work of a god. He needed time. He needed manpower. And most of all, he needed his lovers support. They were still rivaling eachother, jealous over eachothers affections for the man. How could they work together to help him find a man who could possibly just be dead?

But then a thought came to him. Dead or not, all he needed was the body.

The man may have not been a god, but he could, however, use god realm.


	6. Memories MIRA

_**Memory**_

_"Hey hey! I'm Shane, pleased to meet you!" the small blond boy grinned at the two other girls, one with white hair, one with red, "I'm going to be the greatest shinobi ever, me and my brother both!"_

_"Dyzzi!" the white haired grinned, "I'm gonna be Kakashi's lover one day!"_

_The red-headed girl blushed, "I...I'm Mira..." she looked down at her feet, "I'm not anything special."_

_"Aren't you that girl that made all those yummy foods at the carnival?" Dyzzi exclaimed, "That's pretty special!"_

_"Um..." she lifted her bluish green eyes a little bit, "But cooking... we're shinobi... I'm supposed to be able to fight."_

_"Then use the cooking skills!" Shane exclaimed, "I bet you can come up with something totally awesome if you put your mind to it!"_

There was a knock at the door and Mira opened her eyes, "Mommy?" Karin peeked in, "Aren't you going to the bar?"

It had been three days since Shane's initial revenge, and Mira hadn't set foot outside her house. Allora and Umbra came and visited her, Allora starting to say some things about the blond black ops leader.

"Stop," Mira had said, "You don't know anything about him, so stop."

Both stared at her at that, and soon left.

Neji and Gaara came next, "Mira..." the Kazekage started.

"I shouldn't be so hard on him all the time," she sighed, "I threw away our friendship because of a little bit of revenge," she eyed Neji, "Why didn't you talk me out of it?"

"You should have talked yourself out of it," he said sipping his tea.

She couldn't argue with that, and waved as the two left, Neji was to escort Gaara back to Sunagakure.

Sighing she sat back, "I suppose I could try something else to save what shred of dignity I have left."

_Dark green eyes locked with the bluish green, and Mira blushed louder than she ever had in her life, this was bonafide, never gonna come again, LOVE, she just KNEW it._

_And it was with the auburn haired boy that stood next to Shane's brother. "Hey Mira! Come meet my brother and his teammate!" Shane called._

_"I'm Kei," the older boy smiled gently, "You must be the girl that cooked all that food Shane gave me and his brother."_

_"Mira..." she said quietly, "Did you like it?"_

_"I loved it," he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "How can I convince you to cook like that for me everyday?"_

_"It's not hard," she was as red as her hair now, "Just ask I suppose."_

_Yup, it was the real thing, and all it took were those words. They started meeting secretly all the time, both ditching their teams as soon as they would return to Konoha, meeting in the woods surrounding the training fields. _

_Dyzzi and Shane noticed that the girl was becoming more outgoing, more confident in her abilities, and they both silently thanked Kei for it. When their jonin almost caught her one time, they had both covered for her. _

_Then the unthinkable happened. Shane's brother disappeared and Shane went after him, with Dyzzi, Mira, and Kei following. He was their friend after all._

_So when they saw what Shane's brother was doing..._

_"How could you be so vile?" Mira had exclaimed._

_Those words were the start of her unraveling the already fragile friendship she had._

"Mommy?" Karin asked as she saw the red-head moping at the kitchen table, a plethora of food surrounding her, "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine baby," Mira said sadly, "Mommy and Uncle Shane are just having an argument."

Karin cocked her head to the side and stared at her mother, "Can't you just hug and make up?"

"No baby, too much has happened between us," Mira sighed, "Mommy did something really stupid this time." Sighing loudly she snapped up, "I'm going to the hospital okay. You listen to Tenten while I'm gone."

* * *

"Hey Yuko," Mira called, "Gotta minute?"

"What seems to be the problem?" the medic nin asked as she peeked her head into the lobby, "I see the orange has washed away."

"You know those pills you gave me when... when _he _vanished?" Mira wrung her hands, "I think I need a new batch."

"Oh dear," Yuko said, pulling out her clipboard, "Not sleeping again?"

"I just want to not remember anything for a little while. Just a week's worth and then I'll be able to open the bar back up," Mira said quietly.

_"Mira..." Dyzzi held the shoulders of the very pregnant red-head, "I've... I've got some bad news."_

_"You should have Kei tell me then," Mira smiled, "When is he due back from his mission anyways. This baby's gonna get here before he does."_

_Shane and Dyzzi exchanged a glance then turned back to her._

_"He's missing," Shane said, "His squad came back, but said he fell in battle somewhere... they're not sure what happened to him."_

_Mira looked from one to the other, her bluish green eyes widening, "But how is he missing? Didn't they look for him?"_

_"I've just sent a squad out," Dyzzi said, "I'll let you know as soon as I get word."_

_Mira nodded and yelped out in pain as the contractions started._

"You know you were lucky I had started back then," Yuko said as she filled out the prescription, "You almost lost the baby."

Mira clinked the ball game on the medic's desk, "I'm glad you were here then."

A bottle of pills was set down in front of her, "Take one at bedtime. And call me if you have any other problems." Yuko smiled, "Do you want me to get him back for you?"

"Don't bother. It's my fault anyways."

"Don't say that! What he did was uncalled for."

Mira shook her head, "Trust me, I did something much worse a long time ago." she waved to the medic as she left the building.


	7. Searching SHANE

_**Searching**_

_''Brother! Why are you doing this? I thought you loved me. I thought you would tear open the sky for me.. I came searching for you.. Only to find.. this?'' He said as he looked upon the dolls. _

_He saw himself.. and on the doll, He saw_ I'm sorry, brother, but I must save you from the cruel, cruel, world. I must spare you from the truth of all of this. Things are not as they seem

_Alongside them he saw Dyzzi's, and Mira's dolls. They looked disgusting. His brother never really liked them, but he never thought he hated them, either. _

_''Shane. In these people you found friends, you found inspiration to become powerful. Too much power is never the answer.. you think of life in a child's perspective. You see things as you wish they were, and never the real truth.'' _

_The man, who looked like he had been claimed by darkness, took a breath before he continued. ''You don't see that power is war. War is hell. And from it, hate is born. So I have a solution.'' He said, with his eyes looking at the sky. '' My solution is to kill every single Ninja and create a new line of fighters. To create people who, as they gain more power, become more loyal to me. They will be born with free will, and die with no freedom at all. The only way to stop people from gaining too much power, too much control, is to stop them from being able to do anything but my bidding.'' _

_The blonde boy stared at his brother, fear in his eyes. Did he mean to kill him? Did he plan on killing his only flesh and blood? He always saw a happy man in his brother... He always thought his brother was sincere about what he said.. He trusted him with his life.. could he really be doing this? Fear quickly became anger. _

_He spoke to his brother one last time. ''Uragiri... that is what I shall call you. That is what you will be remembered by forever.. you... are betrayal.'' _

_Quickly, his brother stared into his brothers eyes one final time. Amaterasu. As the four looked in horror as the brother burned, Shane could tell.. _

_Mira looked in relief. Not only did she potentially stop him from having to kill his brother, she was glad when he was dead. _

_She was... happy... She.. was going to pay for it_.

''Shane.. are you alright? You've had such a blank look in your eyes this whole time... Haru explained everything to me. About Kei, about Uragiri.. about Mira.. Look, I'm really sorry for everything that happen-''

Shane cut him off with a kiss, and reassured that he was over it. But he wasn't. Shane never got over it, never got over his brothers betrayal, never got over Mira's joy.. He was going to make her pay... One day.. but then Kei had to go missing. Kei had to ruin it all, by making her helpless, and by making Shane feel bad for even plotting.

Shane needed revenge, anyways. He needed it all along.

''Shane.. don't lie to me. I know you aren't alright. Please speak to me...''

The man sighed, wishing there was something he could do to just make everyone leave him alone. But his lovers both cared too damn much. '' Alright. I admit. I am not alright, but you should not worry. I do not need you to worry about me, because all that will do is make me feel worse.'' He said, almost regretting it. ''What I need right now is for this boat to hurry the fuck up.''

And just as if some sort of god heard his plea, the captain noted arrival.

''So...'' Haru spoke, for the first time in a long while. ''We're here. Lightning country. This is where it all happened, huh?''

The older man wanted Naruto to know more about everything, seeing as he was still somewhat new to Danshokugakure, so he spoke up. ''Yes, this is where we found Yuko. This is where I silenced my brothers "revolution." This is where everything went wrong.''

The young blond haired boy was filled with want. He wanted to know what Shane was feeling, but he was so caged off. This was not the Shane he knew. This is not the Shane he fell in love with. This is something filled with hate.. with revenge. The boy then understood. He remembered the days where he searched for Sasuke, and whenever he found him saw that look of despair, of inner trouble... He loved seeing a human in the man, but at the same time, he wanted him to not look so sad. He wanted the man to feel loved, like what he is.

''Alright. Haru, I need you to do something for me.''

The blue haired man turned to Shane, wondering what he was thinking, and responded. ''Okay. But I also need you to do something for me..."

And as fast as lightning strikes, the man responded. Darkness in his voice. ''No. It doesn't work like that, you see.''

Both uke's looked in utter shock. They have never heard him say anything like that. ''I need you to search around. I want you to find Shinjitsu.''

''Err... Who is that exactly?'' The blue haired boy questioned.

''It means truth. It's the name of a information broker here. Top tier. I came prepared.'' He said, as he showed the two his bag of what seemed to be at least 100,000,000 ryo. ''Find him, and find him quickly. Kei and I have some things to catch up on.''


	8. Sleep? MIRA

_**Sleep?**_

_Mira breathed a sigh of relief, it was over, it was all over, Kei and Shane could get on with their lives. She looked up, reaching out a hand to touch Shane's shoulder._

_He shunned away from her, throwing her a look that told her that she would never be forgiven for her relief._

_She couldn't forgive herself for her thoughtlessness. Ura was his brother, and she knew Shane was closer to him than she could fathom. _

_"I'm sorry," she whispered as they all left. She was one of the last, clapping her hands and offering a prayer._

_Kei clapped his hand on her shoulder, "Come on Mi. Let's get out of here." _

_She exited the cave, and joined Dyzzi in staring at the blond who was staring out at the mountainside. _

_"Let's go home," Kei said as he followed her out._

_"I'm not going home," Shane said lowly, taking off his leaf headband and tossing it down._

_The others nodded. Dyzzi and Mira wouldn't let him leave alone, and Kei went along because he was Ura's teammate._

Bluish green eyes stared up at the ceiling, empty bottle of pills by the side of the table.

Still sleep wouldn't come. _I took enough to knock out an elephant for a week. Damn. Gaara's going to be pissed at me for doing it too. He hates sleeping pills. Which makes no sense if you think about it..._

She rolled over, trying to fight her racing mind, Dyzzi had walked her home from the hospital, telling her that Shane and his two lovers had vanished.

"Mira you know how he gets. I should have never let you try that stupid plan," the yaoikage sighed exasperated, "What if he gets in trouble?"

"It's Shane," the red-head smiled, "He's the strongest guy we know. And Naruto and Haru won't let him get into trouble, they care about him too much."

The words seemed to calm Dyzzi down, but Mira went into her house even more depressed.

_Kei and now Shane... Damnit just how useless am I?_

She was glad that Neji and Gaara weren't at home and Karin was over at Tenten's. She didn't feel a drop of guilt as she did the exact same thing she did five years ago and took the entire bottle of pills.

_Wait... wasn't Yuko told not to give me anymore after Haru found me the last time? I remember Shane yelling at her about that._

Blackness enveloped her and she couldn't remember why that thought bothered her.

"Mira...Mira!" Tenten's voice called her and she felt a bright light.

"Why the hell did you give them to her Yuko?!" Dyzzi was yelling, "You _know... _if Tenten hadn't brought Karin home..."

Mira blinked open her eyes as Yuko was explaining that she had checked with the ramen bar owner's psychiatric file, "I didn't think she would try it again."

"You idiot!" Tenten said as she saw the red-head was awake, "Do you know just how much Neji and Gaara are going to rip you for this? I've half a mind to go march and find them right now."

"Where's Karin?" she weakly asked.

Dyzzi walked over to her, "She's safe, Allora's watching over her right now." the others left the room and the yaoikage sat down, "Mira... what the hell were you thinking?"

"It's my fault," the red-head whispered.

"Damn it all, we've been over this! Shane is not still pissed off at you because of some delusion that you were _happy _at his brother's death!" Dyzzi threw up her hands, "And Kei is still alive somewhere! We just have to find him! You're really going to leave Karin just like that?"

"You guys all love her though," Mira smiled, "So she would be alright."

Dyzzi stared at her for a long moment, "I swear... if you ever do anything like this again, I'll just kill you."

"Um... Dyzzi..." Mira started.

"Don't fool me with your logic! I need you as one of my anbu and damnit, you're going to stop trying to off yourself every time someone disappears on us! Once you get discharged, I'm sending you on the mission to go find Shane!"

"Yes ma'am." Mira saluted.

Dyzzi sighed, "And work this damn thing out for once and all will you. I'm tired of my two best friends fighting all the damn time."


	9. Rebirth SHANE

**_Rebirth_**

''It's been a while, Shinjitsu.''

The bald old man looked, and rubbed his brown eyes. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He couldn't believe it was the ambitious young man that seemed to light up the room with just his presence. He saw a man filled with hatred, and despair. He saw death in his presence. ''You... why are you here? I haven't seen you in such a long time.. ever since I helped you find your brother... What happened with that?''

The blonde man clenched his fists, and felt memories flowing through him. He felt like it was happening all over, like he was searching for his brother...

_They had arrived in the small town, hoping for answers. They needed some sort of lead. They had spent so long trying to get here, there was no way they could leave with nothing. _

_''Shane.. Are you all right?'' Dyzzi asked, worriedly._

_ ''No. I'm not, I'm really not. I need your assistance with this, Dyzzi. You have always been very good at getting information... our sensei taught you well. I need you to use your skills to find a man named Shinjitsu.'' _

_Dyzzi wondered slightly, for a short while, how he even knew the name of anyone in this foreign place, but at that, she ran off. In search._

''You know I remember her, too. That girl. She was a very beautiful girl, and I thought you were with her. But, as it turned out.. you were.. you know.'' The older man sighed, and he felt foolish. He should have seen all along what everything really meant to Shane. He was the best information broker in the lightning country, and yet he couldn't read a young boy who had shown his distress in every word he spoke.

He always felt like a fool around the man, and he still did.

''What, you don't remember Mira?'' The boy said, who then entered a somewhat evil laugh. ''It turns out she's the least memorable person of us all, huh? Well I won't forget. Ever. I will never forget what that bitch made me go through. She couldn't even let me get vengeance. She couldn't let me do anything. Well she'll see. She'll get it where it hurts. In her black heart.''

And to those lines, everyone's eyes widened, in shock. Noone could ever see the mans dark resolve. Noone could ever know what he really felt inside. For a while, he felt the evil in him silence itself when he fell in love with Haru, and once again when he found Naruto. But it never really left. It was always there. It was like a tattoo that he just couldn't get rid of no matter how hard he tried.

''Well, what do you need help with? I have alot of good information, but none of it is ever cheap.''

The young blonde quickly replied. ''I know, and none of us are ever unprepared.'' He said, as he pulled the bag of gems out from his pocket. ''Well, now. I wonder how a kid like you got all of those. You haven't been doing any thievery in our country, have you?''

He looked offended. And he was. He wanted the man to jump off a cliff holding a bag of bricks, but he restrained. ''Hehe, no, my family is simply rich. We are a line of heroes. Eikou. You know us?''

The man seemed somewhat surprised, for he knew the name well. They had fought in the great ninja wars, and were known for using the power of light. He was somewhat surprised when he felt dark chakra emanating from the boy, but he also felt light mixed within it.

''Well? Are you going to help us or not?'' The boy said, becoming impatient.

''..Yes.'' He paused. He felt like he already knew the query. He felt the same in this boy as that mysterious man he saw. He knew it could be one thing. Brotherhood.

''Shinjitsu, I need you to help me find Kei.'' Shinjitsu was very intrigued by that. He knew Kei was one of their allies, and Mira's lover, so he thought that they would already be in touch. ''Why don't you know where he is?'' He asked, somewhat trying to stall the fact that he only had one, unreliable lead.

''Because he is dead. Or so I bet he hopes I believe. I think he may be out there, waiting.. watching.. for something. Someone.''

The old man decided that seeing as how he was sure noone else in Kumogakure would know anything, he decided to give his bad lead. ''The sky golem.'' He said, hoping the man remembered what that was. He was fearful of his lead failing, but it was all he had. He decided to not make the man pay him, as he would feel guilty if the lead was useless.

''You mean that old mountain? The one that seems to always have some sort of conflict going on?''

The man was relieved he remembered, as he just wanted the boy to hurry up and leave. He needed time, now. He needed to find out more.

''Yes, that is the one. This information is free of charge, as you are an old friend.''

The blonde man knew he was lying. He never was that good of friends with the man, and felt like he was being lied too. None the less, he knew that it was all he could be given, for information on Kei would be extremely hard to find. ''Okay... Thank you.. I hope we one day meet again, under more happier circumstances.'' He said.

The old man then spoke, emotionlessly. ''Good bye, my friend.''

As they left, the old man signaled Haru to stay for one short sentence. As Haru's ear got near the mans mouth, he whispered ''Please look out for that boy. He is so much weaker than he puts on.. Not in his physical strength, but.. his heart.'' He then put his head down on his desk, and watched as Haru walked away.

* * *

They reached a beautiful plains. They decided to rest here, which meant, yes, buttsecks, and Shane could never turn that down, no matter how bad the mood. But before they got into it, he decided to say something. Something that lead to the truth about himself. That lead to rebirth.

''I want to prove to Mira... that she is not messing with a fool. Her enemy... is true evil.''

And then, like magic, Shane's amulet, the one that his brother gave to him as a keepsake. As proof of his love, began glowing. It was a golden amulet, but it quickly became black. It was engulfed in darkness, and Shane was... destroyed.

He felt like his life was over. He felt in despair. That necklace.. kept him alive.

And there.. there it was. ''Saisei. Rebirth.'' The man spoke, as he stared into it's eyes. It was a white knight, with golden trimmed armor. It had a sword that made Shane's heart drop. Everytime he looked at it it made him feel like he was reliving everything. But, at the same time, he felt like he was getting.. in touch with himself. He felt awakened, and, with that, he leaped into battle.

''Death comes to those who search for it.''


	10. Old Beginnings MIRA

_**Old Beginnings**_

_"Is this the place?" Dyzzi asked Shane, "That..."_

_He cut her off before she could say who told him of the village below them, "Yeah, this is it," he snapped, "Danshokugakure."_

_"Will they accept us?" Mira wondered._

_Shane wouldn't even look in her direction, but Kei placed a hand on her shoulder pulling her into an embrace, "Of course they will. They accept everyone."_

_She shook her head at him, "Kei not now," she whispered in a low voice. Couldn't he understand that Shane was hurting? That it was her fault for not trying to understand his pain?_

_Even Dyzzi looked disgusted at the two for a moment._

_

* * *

_

She stared at the ceiling again, counting the tiles. What the hell had she looked like then to them?

* * *

_A blue haired nin met them at the front and smiled at them, his eyes lingering a bit on Shane. "Welcome to Danshokugare," he blushed, "You'll have to come meet our Kage if you want to stay here... we had already heard about why you want to join us."_

_Mira softly smiled to herself as she noticed the boy seemed to crush on Shane. Vowing to herself to try and make up for what she had done by making Shane happy, she started to play match maker to the two._

_For a while it seemed to work, Shane was speaking to her again at least. And he even helped her open the bar. _

_

* * *

_

Yuko came in to check her stats, "You'll be discharged in the morning.

* * *

_Kei was gone, no sign was to be found, and for a very short while, Mira had the old Shane back as she recovered from the childbirth and the aftereffects of taking the pills. _

_She smiled when she saw him play with Karin, there was still some hope that things will work out between them. Haru seemed relieved at all of this._

_She made black ops when Karin was four, and they were on patrol when the blond jinchuuriki from Konoha had caught Shane's eye._

_Mira watched sadly as he went on and on about how wonderful this boy was, thinking of Haru and how hurt he would be when he found out. But Shane and Haru she owed her and her daughter's life to. _

_So when he asked her to help with bringing Naruto to Danshoku, she merely nodded, she still owed Shane that much. She took pictures, delivering them to Shane, but as time went by, the relationship still crumbled._

_Haru found out, and he walked away, painful and hurt at Shane choosing someone else. He was lucky in that it turned out Shane loved him just as much as Naruto. In the end, all three were together, and Mira was happy for them._

_But now there was no point in her existence for Shane. _

_

* * *

_

She put on her anbu mask, "Please be okay," she whispered, "And if you still hate me..." her bluish green eyes hardened, "I'll take whatever punishment you have without fighting."

She disappeared from the village gates, hot on Shane's trail.


	11. Forward is the Only Direction SHANE

**_Forward is the only direction._ **

''Death? Do not act a fool. Eidolon's come to sweep out what is left of us. To attack us while we are weak. I am not weak like the others. I will not submit!''

Saisei simply stared. That's all he did. He only said that one thing, and for the rest of the time.. he simply stared.

It drove Shane mad. His gaze felt like he was shining the light of heaven himself upon Shane.. and it hurt. It hurt to feel like he was being cleansed, because he didn't want to change. He wanted to stay this way. He liked being evil. As much as he was amazed to think this, it was true.

And then, suddenly, Saisei dissapeared.

What seemed to be only milliseconds later, he was infront of Shane, with an attack that seemed so powerful it could end it.

Shane was not weak, though. Shane would survive. Like always. He found strength in his determination, and Shane felt like he could never lose.

But life surprises you.

Shane immediately used Susano, and blocked the attack. Then, out of nowhere, he saw blades of light flying down upon him. He tried to run, but he couldn't. He tried to escape the attack, but his legs wouldn't move. Then he looked down. He saw what seemed to be roses entangled in his feet. He could not move, he could not cast, all he could do was stand there. And die.

But he didn't. He would never give up. ''Spark!'' his body was surrounded in lightning, and he felt warmth filled through his body. He had only used spark once before, and that was when he first learned it. The situation never seemed so dire, never did he think he needed to use it. This jutsu made a weakness seen in even Kirin. The roses were shocked off, and he avoided the swords. His lightning then grabbed the swords, and threw them back at their owner. Saisei caught the swords, and then suddenly enveloped them in light. When they were gone, he threw a giant disc of light at Shane, that had only hardly been dodged.

Saisei was getting to Shane. Eidolon have a power of making their future-owners feel weak minded, and he was surely going through that. He wanted to be different from others. He didn't want to fail to this Eidolon, like so many others do.

He decided to go all out. ''Sharingan Tsukuyomi.''

And then, he had the best idea. To merge dark and light. To create an ultimate middle path that would destroy all. He decided to tie Kirin and Amaterasu together. To create the ultimate being. And then end it with one, final move.

''Shinra Tensei. Amaterin.'' He then locked Saisei in a gigantic ball of raging light and darkness. He had let out some of the most powerful moves in the world all at once, and did not expect to get dissapointed. However, he did. Saisei escaped the ball easily, and then his blade found his way to Shane's heart.

All was over. Life was at an end. Love seemed to leave his grasp. ''I love you two..'' He closed his eyes and never thought to open them again. I am content. he thought to himself.

But this was not the end. Only the beginning. As life seemed to leave him, as his body seemed to become a hollow, empty shell, it seemed like he was locked in an embrace. It felt like something was holding him tightly, shielding him from death. He opened his eyes, and saw his brother. But it was not his brother of the now, it was the old Uragiri that he loved so much. It was the Uragiri that had made him smile just at the sight. It was the Uragiri that betrayed him without a cause.

''Brother.. Why did you leave me?'' He said, as he gazed upon Ura's eyes, wondering if what he was seeing was real. He didn't expect that it was. He was expecting another genjutsu. Another bullshit trick by the Eidolon to make him submit. But he wanted to believe. He wanted his brother. He wanted death if it meant that he would have his brother again.

''Do not fear. You are not truly dead. You must stay strong, for life as you know it isn't the same anymore. You will be changed, molded, reborn. But first you must get over the things of the past.'' He said, and the room seemed to change.

_He was with Mira. He was speaking to her about Kei's disappearance. It felt like the trees were watching them. Like they were listening to everything. It felt like he was being judged. Like something was trying to prevent him from saying what he wanted to. _

_''Mira, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through this.'' He sighed, and then covered his eyes with his hands, hoping that if he covered them long enough, his problems would fade. He wished the same from sleep, but it only brought him temporary loss. He wanted to just die already. He was tired of seeing people sad. He was tired of the ninja world._

_ ''It's okay. It isn't your fault. He died helping Konoha, and we should be proud of him.'' Mira didn't know what else to say. She didn't know what Shane was thinking, but he looked like he was in despair. Again. Ever since he saw his brother, he's had that look from time to time. Something was wrong. Something was very very wrong. _

''You made her think that you sincerely cared for her, but all it really was, was counseling yourself. You thought that maybe if you felt bad for her enough, you would forgive her. You thought that everything would disappear if you tried hard enough. But it isn't like that. Other peoples feelings do not exist to help you cleanse yours. You used others for your own dark resolve. You used them and then dropped them.''

''No!'' Shane said, angrily. ''I didn't! It was her fault! All she ever did was make me feel bad. All she ever did was bring sadness into my life. I would never use Dyzzi, or Naruto, or Haru. I'd never hurt them. I'd never make them do anything for me that would make them hurt too bad.''

Before Shane continued, Uragiri interrupted. ''But you did. You are using Haru to find Kei, and make him betray Mira. Don't you realize how much this hurts him? He loves you more than anything, but he cares for Mira. He wants to have you both friends again, eating ice cream together and playing monopoly.''

''But...Haru didn't have to do anything. He could have just stayed in Dansho. He could have fled. Took time off for himself. Anything. He didn't have to stay, he did on his ow-''

Uragiri interrupted, ''No, he didn't. You forced him. The look on your eyes was enough to say that you wouldn't take no for an answer. He probably wouldn't anyways. He would help you any way he could. Same goes for Naruto.''

Shane was now guilty. He felt like he was a demon that didn't deserve to live. He felt like his death would save everyone. He now wanted not rebirth, but judgment. He wanted to just be killed for what he had done, and get it over with. But he knew it wouldn't happen. He knew that he would be forced to change. To forgive himself and others for what they had done. The idea of him infuriated him.

''I refuse! I refuse to forgive. I won't forgive you, or Mira, or Kei.... I just want all three of you to disappear! Just leave me alone!''

Suddenly, the room changed again, and he was watching himself.

_He was with Uragiri, and they were talking to eachother, cuddling in bed. ''Brother, you know I would do anything for you, right?'' _

_Back then, it was John. Uragiri was a name that he learned to use to pronounce a traitor. Not the loving brother he once had. _

_''Yes, I know, John. For you I would stop life itself. You must know, that I care about you so much. I love you more than the moon and the sky, and everything beyond that.''_

_ John had a look of true happiness in his eyes as Shane said this. _

_When Shane looked at it, he wondered how this loving, compassionate brother, who seemed to do anything for him would become the monster he feared. A beast that he would have to slaughter. _

_The older blonde man spoke. It was almost like he had love in his voice, for want of a better word. It was a sensation noone could describe. ''Shane.. for you, I would rip the sky apart and obliterate the sun. I would carve your name on the moon and make a heart out of the debris. I would sell my soul just to make you happy.'' _

Shane cried, as he looked upon this. He remembered what he felt back then. He remembered his love for his brother. He remembered everything.

And he almost forgot the wanting to kill Mira. Wanting to plot vengeance.

Now he had one thing in mind. Truth.

''I'm not dead, you know. It's not too late to bring me back to what I was.'' Uragiri spoke, and Shane immediately jumped on his brother, and kissed him on the cheek. He wished that this was truly his brother.

But alas, the truth came. Uragiri quickly turned back into Saisei. Shane looked upon Saisei, and felt understanding. Although he was somewhat mad that he used a trick on him, he was happy he could show him the light. He loved his brother so much, and he wanted everyone to know the truth. He wanted everyone to know that he still loved John.

''I see the truth now, Saisei. I see it all. And I forgive myself. I forgive Mira. I forgive my brother, most of all.'' Shane spoke with such pure happiness in his voice that it touched Saisei.

Saisei reached his hand forth and locked Shane in an embrace, and when Shane opened his eyes, Saisei was gone. But not truly gone. Shane now had a bracelet, that was made out of pure gold, and had diamonds all over it. In the center, there was a huge diamond, that did not seem like a normal diamond. He filled his hand with chakra, and then pressed down upon the diamond. Saisei quickly appeared, and put himself in a position to guard Shane. Guard him from what, Shane wondered?

And there he was. It was Shane. He had white hair and red eyes, but had black chakra surrounding his body. He felt such a dark resolve from this other Shane, and understanding, but he wanted to silence it. He knew that the only way to truly be born anew was to destroy all fragments of the old Shane. The Dark Shane.

''Births embrace. Charge!'' Immediately, Saisei appeared infront of Dark Shane, and he used spark. Saisei leaped back to avoid the lightning, and then started using hand symbols. Out of nowhere, a giant golden dragon appeared and stomped on Dark Shane. Quickly, Dark Shane summoned Susano and used Susano's arrows against the dragon. He immediately knew the dragons name. Arniel. Then, Susano shattered. Dark Shane used Amaterin in desperation, but to no avail. Saisei and Arniel merged, and became a knight riding a dragon. Arniel then began spinning, and charged into Dark Shane. The radius was so large that he couldn't escape, and as it pushed him back, Saisei's sword quickly became a gun. He shot a bullet that seemed to immediately reach Dark Shane, and upon touching him the bullet exploded. The radius was huge, and Shane had to close his eyes just to make sure the light wouldn't blind him.

When he opened his eyes, he was back. He grabbed his hair, and saw that it turned back into the golden blonde hair it used to be. He looked in the mirror, and saw that his eyes were now yellow, but with a white circle around them. Almost like a halo. He saw power in his eyes, and knew that he was more powerful than ever before. He still retained his dark powers, but now had even more powerful light ones in his arsenal. He looked upon his once black blade, and saw that it was now white, with golden embroidery. And then he saw something that made him leap.

''Naruto!'' He jumped on his lover, and began kissing him softly, in every spot he could reach.

Naruto was surprised at this, and also extremely weirded out by the new change of face. However, this did not stop him from speaking. He had been deathly sad until now, and was prepared to bury his love. Him being back was like the world being lit up. ''Shane.... I thought you were dead. I felt life leave you, and I tried everything to bring you back.. but you wouldn't... how.. did you?''

Naruto said this, tears in his eyes, and then Haru walked in, originally coming to ask for some flowers to put on his resting spot. Haru's tears almost immediately left, and he jumped on top of Shane. The three men started playing with eachother, (PERHAPS IT WAS M RATED PLAYING.) And the world seemed at ease.

''I love you.'' He said, and with a great amount of compassion in his voice. He loved the Shane he had now become, and the others loved it too. But now he had realized that they still had the matter of Uragiri and Kei.

But he could have one night of fun, couldn't he?


	12. Lust and Love MIRA

_**Lust and Love**_

The only sound you could hear was ragged breathing as the dark haired man licked his way up the woman's thigh as the other man watched with bored brown eyes.

"Is the plan in place?" he asked.

"Yes," the woman gasped as particular attention was being paid to the inside of her thigh, "Everything is working out even better than we hoped. Both of them are falling perfectly into our trap, we'll be able to collect..." she paused for a moment to bite back a pleasured scream.

"Good," the red-headed man went over placing his arms around the woman who's orgasmic moans only escalated, "I knew that you would be my best," he tilted her head up and captured her lips, "And soon we'll destroy this foolish village."

"What makes them think love is so special anyways," the woman said bitterly as they parted, "If it weren't for that, they wouldn't be so damn laughably easy to manipulate."

* * *

Mira sighed as she leaned against the boat railing, ignoring the sailors that were manning the boat taking her to Lightning Country, where she could tell that Shane was heading.

"That bad huh, I haven't even _tried _to come here since..." her voice trailed off and she shook her head, "Kei did. He disappeared here. Shane what are you up to?" she found herself absentmindedly grasping the small red pendant hanging around her neck.

_"Oh it's pretty!" Mira exclaimed, "There's a little bird in it!"_

_"It's cracked and useless," Kei had said, "Shane's brother was throwing it away, but I knew you liked things like this."_

_"It's not useless," she argued, "And the crack makes it look like a bird is flitting around in there."_

_"I don't see it at all, but if you say so," Kei shrugged, "Keep it."_

Other than the silver ring on her finger, it was the only piece of jewelry he had given her, so she never took it off. It felt warm today, had been getting warmer since she had set out on this journey, but she wondered if that was because she kept playing with it as the ship sailed closer to her destination.

Because after all, it was only a pretty red stone with a crack, a memento of her husband and friends and the life they had before everything had gone terribly wrong.

* * *

"Karin, you stay where I can see you!" Tenten called out as the small girl ran into the playground. The brunette girl turned back to Lee and Umbra, "I don't like that she got sent out so damn soon."

"But she has to show her friend that the feelings of youthfulness still exist!" Lee exclaimed, "I understand her feelings completely!"

"We only met after Kei disappeared, so I have no idea what happened between Mira and Shane before they came here, I think besides them, Dyzzi's the only one that really knows." Umbra wrung her hands, "But I agree with Lee, they've got to become friends again."

"Well, I sent out a message to Neji and Gaara to get back here after everything calms down in Suna," Tenten looked back at the playground to where Karin was playing, something in the air was making her uneasy about the small girl, "But that could be another week..."

"Mira will be back with Shane before then," Umbra assured her and Lee nodded his agreement, "And then they can all rag on her for being stupid with those pills together."

"Sure," Tenten agreed, "I'm worrying for nothing." the other two left for their training and she sat down on the bench, still keeping an eye on the small girl.

* * *

The boat landed at the Land of Lightning's port, and Mira pulled her cloak a bit closer to her as she walked down the plank, eyes searching for some sign of the three she knew to have passed through here.

_There_, she didn't know why, but Haru had left his small scratched mark in a post a sign to other anbu that he had passed through there, placing her hand on it she smiled sadly, _Damnit, I'm making them suffer too aren't I?_

A hand pulled on her cloak, and she looked to see a bald man, "Shinjitsu..." she breathed, remembering well the man who had led them to Uragiri so long ago.

"Then you do know me... are you looking for that man? The one who was searching for his brother so long ago?"

She nodded, "Please... I've got to make amends with him, I've done something..." she chewed her lip, "I did something terrible and it seemed to shatter everything further than it was. Have you seen him?"

"I'm surprised you don't know, he came looking for your lover after all."

_Kei?! _Mira's eyes widened, and she felt she had an inkling of what Shane's plan was, "Did he really fall that far?" she whispered.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this," the bald man said, "But you should head off to the sky golem. That's where I sent him and the two men with him," he stared hard at her, "I don't know what you did to get him to hate you so much, but you better do what you can to save him."

She had already turned, running towards the gates of the village, towards the mountain that had scared her the previous time they were here, something seemed to disturb her about that particular peak.

"Don't let me be too late," she whispered to herself, but she couldn't understand what it was she thought that she was trying to prevent from happening. She was coming to let Shane have his revenge on her without hurting himself or his two lovers further, what else could happen, even in the place where all of their troubles began?

* * *

Karin yawned as she rose sleepily from her bed and swung her legs over to head to the bathroom.

She came out, and peered down the hall, she could have sworn that she saw the flitting of movement, "Mommy? Have you brought Uncle Shane and Uncle Haru home already?" she walked towards the movement, green eyes looking around in wonder.

A hand came from behind her, dropping a cloth over her face, and the green eyes went foggy as the girl collapsed.

"Too easy," a voice said before disappearing from the hall.

* * *

"Lady Yaoikage!" Tenten yelled, slamming open the door to her office.

"DAMN!" Dyzzi yelled as she got up from where she had fallen, "Will this week get any better?!"

"Karin's gone!" Tenten exclaimed, not willing to wait on the silver haired woman to go through her litany of complaints.

"What?!" eyes wide the woman crossed the room in an instant, "Send Umbra, Yuko, and Allora in here now!"

Umbra and Allora showed up, but Yuko didn't. Dyzzi stared for a moment, "Where is she?"

"She wasn't at the hospital," the messenger nin said, "There was this scroll in her place."

The Yaoikage broke the seal on the scroll and hastily read it, she took a step back and it fell from her hands, "Send a message to Mira, Shane, and Haru," she ordered, "Tell them to stop this foolishness and come home now."

"Lady Yaoikage?" Umbra asked tentatively, "What happened?"

"She never quit them... this whole time she was working for..." Dyzzi's voice trailed off, "Karin has been taken by the Akatsuki... and Yuko is the traitor that took her to them."


	13. The truth will set you free SHANE

_**The truth shall set you free. LEMON 50X OVER.**_

_''Uuughh.. please! Don't stop! fuck me harder!'' Shane yelled, as the older man was rapidly sliding his cock in and out. This was Shane's first time, and it had hurt badly, but he wanted to give back to his brother. He wanted to show him how much he loved him. He wanted to give his brother all of the pleasure he could possibly give until the day of his death._

_Shane moaned, ''More! More! fuck me as hard and fast as possible!'' The cock was sliding in and out of Shane's ass extremely fast. Shane was in a great amount of pain, but he endured. With the pain came pleasure, and he felt like he wanted this to go on forever. He wanted his brother to know that he would go through all of this to make him happy._

_John Moaned, and then started to go even faster.* ''Brother.. are you sure you can take this? I know how it feel..uuunhhh'' The boy felt an orgasm coming, but didn't decide to stop. He wanted his brothers first time to be as memorable as possible, so he kept going, even after he came. It went on for hours, and it was one of the best experiences of their lives. ''Brother, I love you. So, so much. But next time I'm going top!'' John laughed, and then grabbed his brother in a sweet embrace, kissing his lips ferociously. Neither of them slept that night, and neither of them regretted it._

The blonde man woke up to an unsurprising amount of morning wood. He chuckled at it. ''You've been getting a lot recently, haven't you?'' Then, he looked at his side and saw a deep stare that Naruto gave him. He looked almost scared, but yet, happy at the same time. Shane liked this look. He wanted to hold it forever.

''Well, we've got things to do, Naruto. I think it's time we entered The Sky Golem.'' Naruto was curious of this. He wanted to know why it was so special, and why it had been named such. So, he spoke.

''What is it called The Sky Golem for?'' He had curiosity in his voice. ''It's named that because once, in their mad quest for expansion, the tailed beasts created Golem's, and made them build a mountain. They attempted to make it reach the moon, but eventually, one by one, they were captured for villages needs. You know this well, after all, you're a Jinchuriki yourself.

Naruto sighed. ''I see. Well, that's kinda weird. I didn't know mountains could be built.'' Shane gathered his breath. He thought this too, but one day found out how. ''The Golem's.. used their bodies. And Golem's are not born. They are created. By souls of the living. But, long ago they went extinct, and only the tailed beasts could create them.''

''Oh. Well... that was an interesting story. I never learned much about the beasts.. about.. myse-'' Shane grabbed Naruto tight in his arms, and whispered to him. ''You are not a beast. You simply are forced to deal with one. You are really a beautiful man with so much potential. I love you, and I need you to stop doubting yourself.''

Shane felt odd for saying all of this. Just recently he had been so far out of touch with himself, yet he was giving advice? It felt strange to him. He wanted to hurry up and get to the mountain. So, he decided to use a faster means of transportation.

''Saisei, Arniel's call.'' And, suddenly, a dragon came and picked the three men up, and carried them to The Sky Golem. However, the Dragon did not take it's leave, as it was worried for the three. Something about this place was just filled with evil. It should have left, but it's ominous scent stayed. Something was still going on here. Someone was here. Or some one(s).

''You three. Naruto, Haru, and Arniel. Stay outside. I want to take care of this matter myself. I will be fine. If worst comes to worst, I'll summon Saisei for aide.'' Three two men sighed, and decided to listen to the older man. They knew that look. He had to do this himself. Shane's original plan was to make Kei into a heartless being and have it cheat on Mira infront of her very own eyes, but now all he wanted was answers. He felt like something was telling him Uragiri's explanation of everything was a lie. Like it wasn't the full explanation. He wanted more.

_Shane looked in a tank. He saw himself. He was incomplete, but he was Shane. Did his brother plan on killing him and then making another, more obedient version of himself? Did he love him, yet want to kill him because he couldn't control him? Shane was so confused. He decided to destroy the fake Shane. He crushed the tank, and then shot a Chidori Stream into the replica Shane's heart. It's eyes opened widely for a second, but then closed. Forever. The experiments were at an end. Shane felt a guilty relief in all of this. He felt like he needed to lie down, and never wake up._

''And here you are.'' A voice said, out of the darkness. Shane recognized this voice... it was really Kei's. It was darker than before. It was very dull. Shane walked further, listening to the odd whispers he kept hearing. This place was not normal.

Shane walked into a room. He saw tons of odd looking symbols. His pendant started glowing, and shined a light upon the symbols. They were now readable.

_I need more time. I need more subjects. The mind control I placed on subject 116 didn't work well. He turned into a vicious beast that needed slaying. 117 Was different, however. She listened to my every move, but she randomly passed out and died. The effects may vary from person to person, but at the rate this is going, it could take me thousands of people to get the perfect one. If I take that much people, the countries are sure to notice, and find me. I must slowly take people so that noone notices. Who knew this would be so hard...._

Shane couldn't believe that his brother had now been experimenting on people. But, he didn't remember that when he was here the last. He didn't remember any dead bodies, or anything. Does this mean he's still doing this? Still continuing his experiments? How....

''I'm sure you want answers.'' A voice spoke from behind him. He knew who this was... and he didn't know what to feel. Happy, sad, betrayed, fearful. He didn't know...

''Brother... Why are you doing this? How did you not die before?'' Shane said, breathing heavily as he spoke. He felt exhausted. He needed to lie down. So he did. He fell asleep, unsure of what awaited in his wake.

_''Oh my god, brother! I'm so in love with you!'' John spoke, as Shane fucked him. As Shane slowly slided his penis back in forth in John's ass, John could feel his prostate being rubbed. He moaned in pleasure, and grabbed his penis and started to rub it furiously. Shane wanted John to cum first, as that always made him feel better. After what seemed to be forever, John came, and shortly after, Shane. John was now accustomed to being the bottom in the relationship, and he enjoyed it very much. Shane was a very gentle seme, and almost always touched John's prostate. They felt the world was in peace as they fucked each other. They felt like they could change the world with just their love. And, one day, they did. But was it for the good?_

''Good morning, brother.'' Uragiri spoke, and handed Shane a glass of milk. ''I know it's your favorite. I still remember. I still remember all of the things you told me, brother.'' Shane saw it.. the look of happiness in John's eyes. It had been so long since he saw that look. He craved it. He wanted it to come back again. So, without thinking, he grabbed the glass of milk, put it on the table, and pounced on John.

He then realized that he was naked, and decided that it may have been going too far too fast. However, before he could get off, he felt someone put his arms around him. He looked behind him, to see Kei. Kei was naked, and he was getting ready.. to put it in Shane. Shane hated being the bottom to anyone else but Ura, so he jumped aside.

John then took off his shirt and began unzipping his pants. Shane wanted this so bad, yet felt so guilty for Naruto and Haru. But, he couldn't resist. He needed this. He needed it alot.

''Brother, I've been waiting for you for so long. I want you to fuck me like how you did before. I missed that. I missed it all.'' Shane looked at Uragiri. He didn't want to think of his brother as such, but he still remembers it all. He was so afraid. But he was so willing. ''Yes, brother. I've.. wanted it too.''

John walked up to Shane, and started to make out with him like how they used to. Shane felt an insane amount of pleasure just from the kissing, and then grabbed John's penis and started rubbing it against his own. He broke away from the kiss to moan, but then John pulled him back and began again. Suddenly, Kei came behind Shane and started rubbing the tip of his cock against Shane's ass cheek. Shane sort of liked the feeling, and felt bad for it.

John then broke away from the kiss and started kissing Shane's muscles. He kissed down his body slowly and then finally came to the penis. He licked the tip a little, and then started moving his lips around the penis, slowly. Shane moaned at this but then felt Kei's penis enter. He hadn't bottomed for a long time, and knew this wouldn't be a walk in the park. But he wanted it. He wanted it so bad. After a while, Shane grabbed Uragiri's head to make out with him for a short while, and then turned him around and began fucking him. Minutes became hours. The men have already came multiple times, and Naruto and Haru decided that it was taking too long. They decided to enter.

Uragiri whispered to Shane. ''I'm done with this all. I want you to take me back.''


	14. Truth and Consquences MIRA

_**Truth and Consequences **_

Aleria hated waiting, but at least now Deidara was waiting with her, and he was even using his hands in rather _interesting _ways.

"That bitch had better not be fooling around with Sasori," she started to say when she saw the black cloaks coming along the road.

"Stop fooling around," Sasori said in a bored voice, "Yuko and Aleria take care of our small guest."

The blue haired nin snapped to attention, "Of course Sasori-senpai! And which small guest..." her eyes widened as she saw the girl under Yuko's arm.

_Mira's little girl? But what could we want with her? _No matter how much she loved Sasori or Deidara, or liked munching on various and sundry human parts, and really she mostly did that to annoy the shit out of her partner, this just didn't seem right.

So when the other four Akatsuki members moved ahead, she summoned one of her snakes and dropped him into the bushes, a message for whoever would be coming to find the girl. _Business or not, Mira was one of the few that didn't judge me for being what I am. I'll do what I can to keep Karin safe._

* * *

Mira kept climbing, still following the signs of the three she was following.

Halfway through to the mountain, she found where they had made camp a few days before, and she blushed as she saw the tell-tale signs of their lovemaking... all over the area... _Nice to know he's feeling well enough to engage in his favorite activity._

Something else was there too, and it scared her.

It was dark so she summoned a small flame with her fire jutsu to see it more properly, "Someone was hurt badly here, a body was... but I don't see who he was fighting..." she looked up again at the mountain worry shining in her eyes, "Shane... what happened?"

She found another confusing mark, one where the three trails had _disappeared_, and some sort of flying beast had taken them away. "How'd... Shane, when'd you get that power?"

Deciding not to make camp again, instead pressing on so that she could make up for lost time, she dispersed the flame and kept her eyes open for more signs of the trio that had passed through here, all the while heading for the peak that seemed to loom menacingly over everything else in this land.

It only took her a small amount of time to reach it, and at sunrise she started to climb up, not knowing what she would find up there.

"Mira!" Haru called out a few hours later when she had caught up to them, "It's Shane..." he bit his bottom lip as Naruto grabbed his arm, shaking his head.

"Is he alright?" she asked breathlessly, "Why isn't he..." it was then she noticed the winged dragon next to the two, "Is that..." she breathed, then shook her head and turned to the others, "Where is he?"

"What do you care?" Naruto crossed his arms.

It was too much for Haru, "Stop it! She came all this way, so maybe..." he chewed his lips, tears threatening to come, "He went in there," he said pointing to the cave, "He asked us to wait here, but we haven't heard from him in a while and we were thinking of going in there to look for him."

"Nah," Mira looked into the opening, her nose crinkling at the smells drifting out of the opening, "Haru... you and Naruto do need to stay here. But if I don't come out with Shane by sunset, come in and find us."

"He's been doing this..."

"I know, but Haru it _was_ my fault. So I'll let him," she shook her head, "I was relieved that the whole mess was over, that he and Kei could go on with their lives. That was wrong of me."

She took a step into the cave, not entirely sure of what she would find.

* * *

Dyzzi stood in front of the pack of dogs and Kiba and Akamaru, "You have your orders, find the trail and inform me as soon as you do. We'll wait until Shane and Mira get back before moving in, he's the only one that can go toe to toe with these jerks, but I need to find out if Karin is safe."

She crossed her arms, "Dismissed," turning her head to Lee, "Any word from Suna?"

"Gaara said that he has his anbu searching in their area, and has already sent Neji back to use his abilities to search for more possible clues," Lee said.

"Good," she turned to Umbra, "How are things with the ANBU's search?"

"Not as good as if Shane were here," the third in command of the black op forces sighed, "But we're looking for anything. Yuko didn't leave a trace of what their plans could be though."

"It's simple. They're after Naruto," Dyzzi chewed the inside of her cheek, "Those asses are still trying to destroy what happiness that boy has finally got."

She dismissed Lee and Umbra and turned back to pacing her office. Somehow it didn't seem as simple as an attempt to grab Naruto... why wait until he was away, and why go after Karin, who he wasn't all that close to, instead of Haru or...

_Shane. _Her eyes widened, her old teammate was one of the most powerful people she knew... and he was close to Karin, hell, that little cutie almost had gotten the old Shane back.

"But why go after him?" she wondered, "It's not like they can steal his powers... can they?"

* * *

Mira shivered as she passed through the tanks, and summoned a bit of flame to keep herself warm, and to give her some light to see in the dark cave.

She almost wished she hadn't. The horrors of the experiments Shane's brother had used came rushing back to her, and she bit back a scream.

"Who's doing this?" she asked quietly.

She turned her head as she heard ragged breathing and moans and followed them, "Shane?" she called out, "It's Mira... are you alright?"

She stepped closer, curious why those sounds sounded so much like...

Shaking her head, _Shane wouldn't cheat on Naruto and Haru... besides who the hell would he be with in this place?_

Another moan came and she stopped, "I know that..." breaking into a run, she followed the sounds until she came into a brightly lit room, where there was no mistaking the three men tangled in each others limbs.

Her bluish green eyes widened in shock as her flame dispersed, "Kei..."


	15. Sweet Vengence SHANE

_**Sweet Vengeance.**_

''Kei...'' When the three men heard her speak, they were shocked. The last thing they would have expected was for Mira to somehow find them. Shane thought that even if she were to come, that neither Haru or Naruto would let her in. He was wrong. He felt bad.

The man was getting the vengeance he desired, and yet, he felt so bad. He saw the look in Mira's eyes. He saw her dieing inside. And then she ran. She ran as if she was being chased by death. She ran as fast as she could, and she ran away from the man she loved. She ran away from the boy she saw a friend in. She ran away from someone she considered an enemy for so long. She sat for a bit, and thought.

_How did this happen.... How did Kei do this to me... How is he alive... How is John alive... How could SHANE most of all do this to me.._ She punched the ground, sending a shockwave that she never expected she could create. She decided that it was time to go back. That Shane could find his own way. It was time to end relationships with that man. It was time to forgive... and forget.

All three men had a look of terror in their eyes. Naruto and Haru walked in, and the three men were already dressed. The sperm all over the floor was very evident, but Haru and Naruto were too caught up by all of this to even notice. Shane decided to end the silence.

''Go after her, Haru, Naruto. Please, go after her.'' And like that, the two left for a bit. Shane waited for them to leave, and then gave John a kiss. ''It's time to tell me what the fuck you have been doing this whole time, you bastard.''

John smirked. He was happy to have his brother back, although he was sure his brother was still wary of him. He decided he needed to explain. And quickly.

''Well, basically, Kei used the ANBU mission as an excuse to find me, and then he stayed with me for a while. After a few months, we quit the experiments due to no avail and due to the fact I woke up and realized who I was becoming.... So, we simply trained. After a while, we well... w-'' Kei interrupted. ''We fell in love.'' And then he gave John a kiss on the cheek. Shane was extremely jealous, and wanted to cut Kei's balls off. Not only did he forsake his wife, but he started dating a man that had already had a soulmate. Shane thought that now being of light, he could completely control his anger, but he evidently could not.

He punched Kei in the face. Hard. He thought only fangirls could nosebleed that much, but that was evidently not the case. Then, he slid his legs and dropped Kei. He grabbed out his sword and held it to the back of his neck.

''Touch him again and I will slice your head off, bastard.''

John looked shocked at this. He also smirked a bit, and was glad to see that his brother was fighting for him. He gave a reassuring kiss to his brother, that was almost like saying ''Don't worry, you are my one true love.'' But, that was not the case. This was going to be a loooong year.

* * *

''Mira!'' Mira looked back as she saw Haru and Naruto running to her. She was still crying. The only thought in her mind was revenge. Revenge for having sex with her husband. Revenge for all of the problems Shane has caused her. Revenge for making her feel guilty. She decided to tell Haru and Naruto what Shane was doing. Evil look on her face, she spoke.

''I question how much that man loves you two.'' She said, and they had a curious look on their face. ''What?'' Naruto said, wondering what the hell she meant. ''Shane loved his brother very, very much. Their love was... more than brotherly.'' she explained. She wanted Shane to lose his lovers. That was the only way she could get revenge. However, the response was not what she wanted.

''Pfft, we already both know that Shane gets pretty kinky with nearly everyone. We don't need your reminder. I think that there must be some reason for this. Why are you invoking this so randomly?'' Mira decided she could play bad too.

''Because I walked in on him fucking his brother and my husband.'' Naruto's eyes widened, but Haru just looked down. ''I'd expect something like that. I'm not worried over the Uragiri part, but Kei... I think it's more of the fact that you are enraged.

Mira's eyes closed. ''Yes. Yes I am. And there is nothing you can say to change that. Clearly there is one solution to this.''

Haru wondered. ''What?'' He said. Mira grabbed Haru by the neck. ''Uragiri must die.''


	16. Hate MIRA

_**Hate**_

"Mira, _look _at yourself!" Haru coughed, "This isn't you! This isn't the woman who's been trying to bring everyone in Danshoku all that love and happiness, what would Karin think if she saw you?!"

Her eyes widened, and she placed him down, "Five years... he's been alive all this time and with..." she slumped down, "How will I tell Karin... he knew that I was pregnant when he left..." she covered her face and started to do the one thing she had promised herself not to do ever again. Large tears poured over her fingers and Haru and Naruto exchanged a glance.

"You should talk to him at least," the blue haired nin suggested gently, "Knowing Shane he was so relieved at seeing his brother alive that he didn't think about anything else."

"It seems to me like Kei is the one at fault here," Naruto crossed his arms, "Shane and his brother... that's just how they work. But I know you never even _thought _about sleeping with anyone else, and as much as you care for Neji and Gaara..."

"It's not like you hadn't any opportunities either," Haru pointed out, "The straight guys of the village pretty much been..."

"Not helping," Mira sniffed as she stood up, "Geeze, why does everything revolve around sex," she composed herself, wiping angrily at her eyes, "But Naruto's right, I should go talk to Kei... maybe he was able to save Shane's brother and that's why they were out here, and if I go after Uragiri again, then Shane and I would be right back to square one."

* * *

Kei laughed, "How come little Shane gets all the pretty boys? How many are in your harem now?"

Shane narrowed his eyes, "That's not your business, Mira was pregnant when you left... you'd just abandoned your own child and wife like that?"

"She was annoying, always going on about bringing happiness to her friends, that it wasn't fair that we were together when you were suffering so much. And yet it was easy to rule her little world. Do you know how much work I put into making sure she was so reliant on me that when I just disappeared I wouldn't have to worry about who I left behind? She would just off herself for me? And then she ruined it by getting pregnant."

"Last I checked, it took two," Shane gripped the sword, still pointing it at Kei's chest, vaguely aware of his brother hadn't left his side, "Why do that to her?"

"Because I could," Kei smirked, and Shane's eyes widened, "John... the experiments... whose idea were they?"

"It was all Kei's," John wrapped his arms around his brother, "He convinced me that it was the only way for you and I to be accepted as we were."

Before Shane could respond, the three heard Mira returning, "Kei? Shane?" she called out, "I think... I think I'm ready to talk about this. Naruto and Haru decided to wait at the dragon for us."

The blond man saw the glint in Kei's eyes, "No..." but his brother held him close, so that he couldn't get to Mira and his two loves, "Mira..."

"Not a word," Kei warned in a low whisper, "You wouldn't want your dear brother to die again now do you." he turned to the woman and the two other men as they appeared in the room.

"Kei, Karin will be so happy to see you," the red-head said quietly, "_I'm _happy to see you... it was just a shock to see you and Shane... and John... together like that."

Shane's eyes widened, he knew that was the first time Mira acknowledged his brother's name in years, "Mira..."

"I'm so happy to see you too," Kei said, embracing her, "You remember the conversation we had about men and not being strong when it came to sex, how we have to have it all the time."

Tears came to her eyes, "How silly of me," she smiled, "No wonder Shane was bottoming."

"MIRA!" the blond yelled as he saw the knife heading for her heart, wondering why she was ignoring him, "John let me go!" why was his brother letting Kei do this?

Kei was holding her too close, any of his eye techniques would hit her as well. He could only watch in horror as the knife penetrated her apron and robes, and the blood came out.

"K..kei?" she gasped of confusion as her eyes faded, "Wha..."

"A stone around my neck. That's what you always were. So damned naive that love and happiness existed for everyone," he let her go as she slumped down, still trying to grip onto him, "It never existed for you. I've always hated you... and your cooking."

"I..." she couldn't finish, as her eyes closed and she collapsed lifeless on the floor.


	17. Sex is Dangerous SHANE

_**Sex is dangerous.**_

''You.... you killed her. You killed Mira... you killed your wife.. how cou-'' John put his hand over Shane's mouth. Shane refused to allow this to happen. He decided one thing must be done. Kei had to die.

* * *

''I wonder what's going on right now... this is all too much.'' Haru said, speaking to the dragon. Haru rather liked Arniel, which wasn't a surprise. Haru has always had an affinity for animals. Dragons no different. Haru began to like the idea of having Ardniel.. as a pet.. of some sort. But, Saisei was a mind reader. He immediately made it clear what exactly Haru could consider Arniel.

''This dragon is Shane's. Noone elses. You must remember that, or else it will lead to.. problems.'' Haru laughed. He had never heard Saisei talk, and he kind of liked it. For such a large man....thing...whatever the hell it was, he had such a cute voice. Haru saw Shane in Saisei, minus the silence, of course. Shane was a talker. And in those thoughts, Haru got lost. He wasn't aware that Umbra appeared in front of them.

''Naruto, Haru! Where is Shane?!'' Haru immediately snapped out of it. He responded, surprise in his voice. ''He's in there. Mira is also there, and Kei, and Uragiri. Why do you wish to know?'' Umbra knew this would be hard to say. Haru liked children, especially Karin. Sadness in her voice, she spoke. ''Karin has been kidnapped by Yuko, and sent to the Akatsuki for some unknown reason. We think it may be a lure to get Shane and Mira to come, but we do not know why, seeing as neither of them house a Jinchuriki.

Haru felt a feeling.. That he hadn't felt in a long time. Like the world was going to burst. Like death was near. Like anyone could die. He responded. ''I see...'' He felt weak. He wanted to cry. All of this was all coming at the same time. All of this from just a silly prank. How could something so small evolve into such a war? How could Shane and Mira fight and leave Karin to die? How could this all happen.....

''I will go. Naruto, stay here. I should be able to take Yuko.. I hope. Please make sure Shane gets notice, as I may need backup soon. I realize Dyzzi can't leave the village, and there isn't much capable fighters outside of this small circle, so I suppose I will go with you, Umbra. You, me, and Allora should be enough to take several Akatsuki members at once, should it come to that. Goodbye, my friend.''

He waved Naruto off, and left. Naruto was stuck in thoughts. He was afraid. Damnit, why do these people have to leave me alone with this dragon? It's fucking scary. And with that, he left to go into the cave. To find out what the hell was taking so long.


	18. Love MIRA

_**Love**_

There was a warm red light surrounding her, and Mira blinked her eyes open to find herself floating in a empty starlit sky, "Wha..."

"You died," a birdlike voice said, and she looked up to see a woman in white robes with feathery reddish gold hair and fiery gold and red wings coming from her back.

"Then Kei..." she hugged her knees, "I was so stupid."

"You believed in it, he used you and that belief. Stupidity has nothing to do with this," the woman walked over to her, "I've seen everything as you carried me, she gently touched the red gemstone hanging around Mira's neck, "But as he said, I was cracked. There was nothing I could do to help you, not unless..."

She held up the gem for Mira to see and the woman gasped, the crack was filled, "My blood?"

"Straight from your heart. You're human, you have human weaknesses," a pale hand caressed her cheek, "But I've always liked that most about your race."

* * *

Shane hated fighting against his brother, but he couldn't just let him stand there.

"Shane! Something happened back at the village!" Naruto ran in yelling, and Shane's eyes widened as Kei readied an attack for the jinchuuriki. The dark man struck down and...

...Poof... it was one of Naruto's shadow clones, inwardly he cheered, falling a bit more in love with the boy.

"The hell are you trying to do?!" the blond called out from another part of the cave, "Shane, what's going on... was that Mira on the floor?"

_Damnit, he didn't see that my mouth was covered. _

"Yes it was the little brat," Kei answered for him, "And I've decided to keep Shane since I have his brother, and really... they're best in a matching set."

"Oh, okay, I see how it is." Naruto's voice sounded a bit hurt, but Shane sensed a bit of the teasing overtones that he had when planning an elaborate prank... or a finishing move... "There's just one thing, Haru and I probably won't like that very much, and I know Mira won't appreciate it. Not to mention a whole slew of other people that care for both of them."

Kei laughed, he had the audacity to laugh at Shane's beloved Naruto, and the blond narrowed his eyes, then widened them, smirking behind his brother's hand as the rasengan flew through the wall and knocked the asshole out.

"Hey, if anyone gets the matching set, it's me and Haru," Naruto said sitting on Kei's unconscious form, then looking up at Shane and John, "Hey... I don't wanna have to fight you too. You mean too much to Shane, but if you don't let him go."

It seemed to work and Shane was suddenly released. Deciding that his brother could wait, he ran over to Mira's crumpled form, "Hey, wake up...I...I'm sorry okay, just wake up."

There was a small red glow beneath her apron and he pulled out the red gemstone that Kei had once given her, the one she always claimed had a little flitting bird in it, though everyone else just saw a crack.

He couldn't see the crack anymore, her blood had covered it completely up, and for the first time he did see the small bird Mira talked about, _An eidolon?_ It glowed brighter, and he heard a voice coming from his bracelet entering his head, _My sister Phoenix. So that's where she was._

"Hey I think she's breathing," Naruto said happily.

"Come on, wake up..." Shane bit his lip, "And I won't have sex in your kitchen for a whole month! The pills didn't get you, don't let this."

* * *

Mira heard a voice calling her, "Shane?" she looked down.

"If you go back, you have to forgive... everything," Phoenix smiled at her, "But you already have haven't you. That's what I always liked about you. I felt it in your restaurant or when you were with your daughter the most."

"How do I get back there?" Mira asked.

"Just open your eyes," the eidolon smiled again.

* * *

Bluish green eyes opened, and Naruto and Shane grinned down at her, "You're awake!" Shane turned to John, "Hey she's okay after all!"

"Then it was a good thing I wanted to throw that one away," his brother smiled before walking away, towards the cave entrance.

Shane followed him, leaving Naruto to help Mira up, "What about..." he asked, looking at the unconscious form of Kei.

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, then shook her head, _I've got Karin. Without him, she wouldn't exist, there's no point in me wasting any more anger or tears._

_"_Good girl" the Phoenix's voice sounded in her brain_._

_

* * *

_

Outside the cave, Shane looked around, "Hey, where's Haru?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, completely mortified that he had allowed himself to forget, "He left with Umbra. That's what happened at the village."

"What?" Mira asked, feeling tendrils of terror around her throat, anything that took Haru willingly away from Shane...

The blond's eyes darkened, "Mira... the Akatsuki have gotten Karin."

She stepped back for a moment, "Shane! We've got to go after him! Haru and Umbra aren't enough to take on the..." she turned back to Naruto, "How did they get her?"

"Um... I think that Umbra said Yuko."

Mira's eyes flew wide open, as pieces fell into place, the small act that had started all of this was the nurse's doing... she had given Mira the pills... she was always there, offering support...

"How many more people are going to betray" she whispered, "Am I really all that gullible?"

She shook her head, and looked over at Shane who was leaning on his brother for support, "...like a daughter to me..." she heard the whispered words.

Trust. Love. It came down to the same thing in the end. And even if she kept being hurt by it, she decided it was better to have that trust and love for others, than to shut herself away. She looked over at the three men, Naruto had joined Shane and John in their private council.

"If Shane is willing to trust you... then I am too," Mira decided, "John... you were one of the best shinobi Konoha had, please..." she chewed her lip, "Please help me get Karin back."


	19. High School Reunion SHANE

_**High School Reunion~**_

Anger in their eyes, they rode Arniel. They were getting sick of flying, as it was quite tiring, and decided to walk for a bit. They landed on the plains that Shane met rebirth, and made a choice to walk until they got to Kumogakure. Upon landing, they saw a man. They normally shouldn't have taken notice, but this man was different. He was.. he was their sensei.

_Listen up, Kids. My test is different than any other. I like literature. If you can't make something I'd actually spend my time reading, then back to the academy with you. And don't bother to ask me something like ''How does this have to do with being a ninja?'' Because I'm not having any of that. Make a poem and make it good. Simple. You have one hour._

_''One hour?! Shane said, annoyed. He never really liked making poems, because they made him get all funny feeling inside. It's not really the time limit that annoyed him, it was moreso that it had to be read aloud. He bit back his remark, and got his pen ready. This would be an odd team._

_Mira and Dyzzi helped eachother on their poems. They had always been friends, and as girls, they bonded easier. Shane, on the other hand, never really liked girls that much. He'd only had one friend with a vagina in his entire life. And it was his dog. He felt annoyed with having to team up with two, but he decided to get over it. He didn't want to act like a child anymore. It had gotten him in a world of hate._

_''Um... well..'' Mira stood up in front of the other two shaking as she unfurled the paper she had been writing on, "My poem is about my feelings regarding the resolution of..." she chewed her lip, suddenly unsure if her writing was good enough, "It's about the memorial held in my father and mother's honor and my Uncle Teuchi taking me in and raising me with his daughter Ayame, and the feeling of relief that I had at his kindness."_

_She cleared her throat and began,_

_"It feels like a giant weight has been lifted off of me_

_This moment...it feels like the moment before the sunrise, when all the world is still, holding it's breath waiting for first light... I can stop thinking of my past and look forward to my future_

_I can now start listening to the birds sing and the crickets chirp, and the water crash against the shore. I can look up to the stars above and follow the leaves fall from the trees to the earth below._

_I can now find beauty in the world that I have been born, and I can hope that this world finds beauty in me. I can look towards the future with hope and love in my heart, and find forgiveness in all wrongs against me, and pray that others forgive my own actions._

_Time heals all wounds, and though I may never forget, I pray that I can heal."_

_Shane was embarrassed. It was his turn. He would have to read what he wrote.. ugh... It's not that it was bad, but it was something he'd like to keep for himself. He then facepalmed himself. Why did he write in a presentation test then? Fuck, he felt stupid._

_''Well, this is my poem(More like a rap. LOL.) about my family.. and my brother. My family was recently murdered in the third great ninja war, for ''treason,'' and my brother gave his all to keep me safe. I wanted to thank him, but I haven't been able to until now. So, this is to you, John.''_

_''Although they died protecting me, their shield will remain. Although they were erased from history, I shall call their name._

_Although it is only us two, and the rental to our life is due, we shall survive. Survive and never die, and we will try, try to revive our name. For we have not died in vain, but the pain, the pain runs deep, past our defenses into our sleep. We lie, when we say we are okay, but we will.. we will remain.''_

_The man looked at the boy. He was surprised to see such a powerful resolve in such a young man, and all he could do was pat his head. ''Good job, my boy.''_

''..Sensei!'' Shane ran up to the man, and hugged him. He had missed his sensei so much. He saw him like the father that he never knew. He loved the man, and not in the way Shane loved other men. He saw an inspiration in the man. He needed this hug so much.

''Shane?! Oh my god! What are you doing here? It's been so long!'' He returned the hug, and held the boy tightly against him. Although his body was that of a mans, it still felt the same as when he hugged the young, vulnerable teenager.

But, the festivities ran short. He saw Naruto. That was his objective. He came here looking for Naruto, and he would leave with Naruto.

''Hey, what the hell... why is Naruto with you? We've been looking for him.'' Shane looked at the man. He now immediately knew what this was all about. His look became serious, and he gave his sensei a look of ''Don't even fucking bother.''

His sensei then saw how far Naruto and Shane's relationship extended, and knew this wouldn't end well. He tried to deceive Shane, by giving a reunion between old friends.

''Hey, do you remember these two? Irroppoi and Yariman.'' Shane laughed at this. He remembered them, and their funny names. And he definitely thought the names fit. Irroppoi was a gorgeous, tall, red headed, hazel-eyed muscular man. He could remember having a huge crush on Irroppoi, and Yariman warning her brother. Ruined his damn fun. Yariman was a pretty, black haired, blue eyed woman. Yariman's beauty didn't fit her personality, but whatever. He'd deal with Yariman. anyday for Irroppoi.

He had remembered long ago, in the academy, attempting to bribe his academy sensei to put him and Irroppoi together. However, his academy sensei wasn't having it. Asshole. But in a way, he is glad now that he ended up with Dyzzi... and Mira. He was surprised at the thought of now being glad to be teamed with Mira, but it was true. Many people had lied to Shane in his life, but he never truly lied to himself.

Shane ran up to Irroppoi and gave him a hug. Yariman punched Shane on the top of the head. ''Back off, bastard. He's taken.'' Shane was sad to hear it. ''Oh? By whom?'' Yariman blushed saying this. ''By this very man.'' She pointed to their sensei. ''Oh.. uh.. what about you, Yariman?'' She blushed even heavier. ''And so am I.'' Shane was surprised at this. He never knew his sensei was bi, nor did he know he liked younger men... and women. He was starting to think all of those ass rubs his Sensei used to give him wasn't an accident. Asshole.

The happiness quickly faded. Naruto yelled. ''Shane!'' Shane looked around for a second, and saw Haru and Mira, along with Naruto, missing. He turned back, and saw Irroppoi and Yariman missing. He yelled. ''Bastard!'' Immediately, Saisei jumped out of his bracelet. He then summoned Arniel again, and decided to split up in a group of three.

After a while of searching, Arniel summoned Shane to him. Saisei had caught the three traitors in his army of swords, and Shane decided that he had to fight them. But he wouldn't kill them. He'd never kill his Sensei or Irroppoi. Yariman, maybe, but that is because she is a complete and utter bitch. Shane gave signals for Haru to fight Irroppoi, and for Mira to fight Yariman. This is mostly because Haru should be about the same level of strength with Irroppoi, and because he wanted Mira to kick that bitches ass. Shane held back a laugh. You'd think by now he'd have a jutsu that turned people into female dogs.

''It's on.'' His sensei went serious immediately. Even at his current strength, he'd still have alot of problems defeating the man. His sensei used water style and puppets. And alot of puppets. Unique ones, too. He had even had intelligent puppets. His puppets knew how to ambush. They called his sensei an army of one for a reason. An army of one, Shane may have not been able to take. However, his sensei was only a legion of one. Standing at 200 puppets, this was going to be a hell of a fight, but not as bad as if he really had over a thousand.

And as he thought, he became submerged into a pool. A single puppet stood before him, and threw a spear. Shane dodged it, but hardly. Evading under water was not very easy. And then Shane remembered the puppets he dreaded. The shark puppets. These puppets were really made out of the bodies of Great White Sharks, and were 500x more deadly. One bite, all it took was one bite, and you could be in critical condition. Then, about 150 puppets flew down from the outside. His sensei had planned to make Shane fight all 200 at once. His sensei knew that he wouldn't be able to sustain this for long, but Shane couldn't really escape with this much. All he needed was a little bit to capture Naruto and make an escape.

But Shane didn't plan on letting that go through. He couldn't use his light techniques underwater, for fear of shock and flame, but he then realized he had a weapon his sensei probably didn't expect. ''Susano.'' And then, without another pause, he used Spark on himself. Immediately, the shock spread through the whole of the water. The amount of electricity was so intense, the pool exploded, blinding his sensei. Shane then leaped out, and put his sword to his sensei's throat. ''He's mine. Hear me? You may live, but don't ever try to fuck with my Naruto.''

His sensei smiled at this. He liked the new Shane. However, he had to put that aside. His duty came first. ''Alright, then. As the vice captain of the ANBU of Konoha, I now declare war on Danshokugakure for the custody of Naruto.''

All eyes turned. As if Danshokugakure wasn't going through enough shit.

* * *

AUTHORS NOTES: Irroppoi means sexy and Yariman means whore. I FELT SO SEXIST WRITING IT, LOL.


	20. More Problems MIRA

_**More Problems**_

"I know declare war on Konoha for the custody of Naruto."

Mira's eyes widened at those words, but she wasn't given a chance to react to them as Yariman lunged forward her attack, "Traitor!" the black haired woman cried out at the red-head as she sent a shockwave through the earth, "How dare you leave your own village for _that_?"

The red-head pulled out her whip as she jumped away from the sunken earth and as Yariman moved her arms to punch again she cracked it, wrapping her arms and immobilizing them, "Fire Release, Love me whip!" she cried as flames shot up the weapon to engulf her opponent.

"You always were too slow on the uptake," the other woman grinned, "Water Release, Deluge!"

Mira didn't wait for the water to extinguish the flames, her hands were already quickly forming seals, "Wind Release, Violent Wind Palm!" in the torrent of air that was racing towards her opponent, she threw various kunai.

"So damn weak, just like you were at the academy," Yariman yelled out as she threw a wall of earth to shield her, "Always mousing around, and yet you're the biggest whore of them all... how old were you when you lost your virginity? Thirteen? Fourteen?"

Mira didn't answer, she knew from experience that Yariman was the type of woman that goaded people into doing what she wanted, the type to use you and throw you away once you outlived your usefulness.

Once again, she offered a silent thanks to Dyzzi who had befriended her before she could fall into Yariman's trap.

She reached into her weapons pouch, _Time for some of my more creative jutsus..._

_

* * *

_

"Lee, what if we can't get there in time," Umbra said quietly, "You don't think they did anything bad to Karin do you?"

Lee stopped short causing her to slam into him, "We'll win!" he said smiling at her, "Because we have youth and love on our side!"

Allora paused, looking back to see if Haru had caught back up, he had left them when he saw the team from Konoha heading towards the mountain saying that something wasn't right. "Please let them catch up soon..." she turned back to the others.

And stared blushing at the fact that Lee had bent down and kissed Umbra, "See! We can't lose!" the taijutsu master said, cupping her face, "That's my promise to you!"

"B...but..." his student was bright red, and Allora would have been grinning if things weren't as serious as they were, it was no secret to anyone _except _Lee himself that the anbu member had a monster crush on him.

_Wonder if Neji told him about it... _Shaking her head the blonde nin cleared her throat, "Come on. We'll have time for this later."

"Right!" Umbra nodded, her blush gone, and she and Lee fell went ahead as Allora fell in step behind them as they continued along the trail to the Akatsuki lair.

* * *

Mira pulled out, of all things, her frying pan.

Yariman laughed at her, "So that is all you're good at after all."

She was too busy laughing that she didn't notice the speed the red-head had used to cross the distance and attack with the cooking weapon, forming seals with her other hand, "Teriyaki Stir Fry!" the pan heated up as it connected with her raven haired opponent, knocking Yariman back.

"My face!" the woman yelled, as she smelled the burning flesh, "You bitch!"

Mira was already moving in for another attack, throwing some wire, "Ramen Trap!" the wind she summoned twisted the wire around the other woman, "Give up! Naruto's happy with us... we're not just going to hand him back to you because you demanded it!"

"Kei wasn't enough for you!" Yariman snapped as she struggled fruitlessly against the wire that tightened around her, "How dare you keep taking my toys? I know it was you that took Neji! And now Naruto?!"

Mira covered her mouth to keep from laughing as she realized what the woman thought, "I'll have to ask Neji if he even knows you exist. You know her Naruto?" she turned to the jinchuuriki, who had helped Haru to neutralize their foe.

"I never even seen her," he said, "And do you actually have any ramen on you? With all this stuff going on, I haven't eaten that much in days. And your attacks made me hungry."

She chuckled, and reached into another pouch for an instant cup and her water skin and used her fire affinity to heat it up, "Here you go."

"Stop ignoring me!" Yariman yelped, still struggling, "Konoha will kill you all for this!"

"We should probably see if Shane needs any help," Haru suggested quietly.

Mira looked over at her old classmate, "So you know," she said to the now disfigured woman, "I was fifteen. And Kei was the only one I ever had sex with." Nodding to Haru and Naruto, the three jumped away leaving the two nin tied up, beat to a crisp, but still alive.

* * *

Gaara looked over the message with a sour look, "It's from Konoha," he said quietly , "They want Naruto back."

"Don't tell me you're actually thinking of helping them," Temari glared at her brother, "They didn't give a damn when Gai's team vanished and that was a half a year ago. Naruto's only been 'missing' for maybe a month or two."

"Of course not," he snorted, then his eyes saddened, "However, we cannot openly support Dansho at this time."

"Y'know when you first came back from that place," the blonde sat in her chair, "It was the happiest I've ever seen you."

The Kazekage was already grabbing a pen, trying to think of some response to Konoha's demands, "My happiness is not important."

"To me and Kankuro it is, to your friends in Dansho it is," Temari folded her hands, "You mean to tell me that Neji and Lee aren't all that important? What about that woman who comes to get you?" she sighed, "I've gotta say, I'm grateful to all of them, you were really depressed for a long while there, even though you were too stubborn to admit it."

The pen stopped in mid-air, as Gaara paused, remembering...

_"You're not very happy are you?" he could make out red locks beneath the headwrap of the woman who said that._

_Sand flew towards her, and she stood there smiling gently at him as it stood poised to crush her should she attempt to attack him._

_"Who are you?" he asked, "How did you get into my private quarters undetected?"_

_"I came to kidnap you," she said stretching, "I don't like making people do things they don't want to do, but there are some people that want to be with you, and for the life of me, I can't figure out an easier way."_

_"Matsuri and Sari?" he asked, a slight annoyance in his voice, those two fan girls never once considered his own feelings, only followed after him because he was the compassionate leader of their village. They never even considered the fact that he might not appreciate their half hearted attentions and they certainly didn't want his love in return, just permission to blindly follow him, view him as a martyr that had been set up for them to worship._

_Gods he was tired of being a martyr._

_"Nope, some friends of yours. But they can't write yet, they're considered missing nin now and all."_

_His eyes widened, "You have Neji and Lee? Are they safe? Did..."_

_She smiled again, "They're safe. In fact I left Neji in charge of the bar so I could come talk to you," she glanced out the window staring at the village outside, "I know you can't leave Suna for too long, but can't you take a small vacation?"_

_He closed his eyes, contemplating the consequences._

_And then realized he didn't give a damn... still..._

_"You'll have to tie me up. It won't hold any water, but at least it'll look as if I struggled a little bit. And let me get a message to my sister so she can cover for me," he found himself smiling as he said those words, and planned his own kidnapping, the first of many..._

"Thinking about it..." Temari said quietly interrupting his thoughts, "You've done a lot of good for Sunagakure. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to support Dansho... the council will do one of two things."

He stared at her as she continued.

"They'll either support you in this endeavor, or they'll strip you of your office and kick you out. But they can't undo the legislation that you've already passed or any of the trade agreements and treaties you've approved," she looked back at her brother, "The only thing that would be up to chance is whether or not you'll still be Kazekage. And really, since when did _you_ care what people thought of you?"

He smirked at that, "I knew there was a reason I rely on you."

* * *

"We better take Arniel after all," Shane said as the three caught up to him and John, "If Dansho's about to go into a war then we need to head back."

"And leave Karin..." Haru started.

"We rescue her first," Mira interrupted, "Besides if the Akatsuki are involved already, what do you want to bet that they put the fire under Konoha's ass to start looking for Naruto now?"

"But Dyzzi's going to need us..." Shane chewed his lip, "Look, Mira we've got our duty as ANBU of Dansho. We can't..."

"They're after me right?" Naruto spoke up, "So if I go with you guys to rescue Karin, then all the Konoha shinobi will follow after us."

"He's right!" Haru exclaimed, "You won't have to worry about Dyzzi then Shane, the battle will be where ever Naruto is!"

* * *

Kakashi closed his book as he looked at the gates of Dansho, "So this is where he's been," he mumbled.

"I swear if you try anything, I don't care how absolutely hot and irresistible I find you, you won't be walking out of this one," Dyzzi crossed her arms as she stepped out, "Kakashi-sempai... he's _happy _here. Can't you idiots call this off? I've got enough problems."

"I don't like this any better than you do," he said, "But I'm not here about that... someone's been using my dogs without my permission again," he lazily eyed her, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that now would you?"

"And if I did?" she eyed him back, "They love me more."

He sighed, "I've missed this..." he opened the book back up again, "So, where do I sign up? If Naruto's happy here, then who am I to try and take him away again?"

"What about Konoha?" she asked.

"It's no longer what Minato and Obito strived to protect," he looked back over at her, "It stopped caring about it's people a long time ago."

She grinned, "Well, I'm not saying yes mind you, but I certainly could use a few extra hands right now," she turned to go back into the village, "Coming? I need to brief you on our current situation."


	21. The fourth deadly sin: Greed SHANE

**_The fourth deadly sin; Greed. REALISTIC LEMON CHAPTER._**

Shane couldn't sleep at all that night. He had decided to allow Mira, Haru, Umbra, Lee, Neji, and Allora go by themselves. He trusted them, but if they took on Akatsuki as a whole, casualties were inevitable. But, he couldn't go. He couldn't bring Naruto into the Akatsuki base, and without him guarding Naruto, Konoha would get their hands on him. He didn't know what to do. He was afraid of what lie in store for him.

He watched the young blonde boy sleep. He wanted Naruto to feel safe, and comforted. He put his arms around his love, and kissed him on the forehead. He cuddled closely to his lover, hoping he would keep him warm. Hoping he would keep him safe.

But, he knew he couldn't, and he hated that. He knew that this war wouldn't end well. He knew that Danshokugakure couldn't manage to win and be merciful to the leaf. He had a plan. His enemies were enemies of each other. They hated each other as much as they hated him. They were somewhat allies, in that the had the same goal of the destruction of Danshokugakure, and the retrieval of Naruto, but they both had a flaw. They could never work together. Shane decided to use this, and he would use it well, in time.

That morning He awoke. He saw that Naruto returned the favor, and had his arms wrapped tightly around him, in a way that showed that Naruto wanted to protect him, too. He looked and his lover, and smiled. But he couldn't hold back the tears. He was so afraid. He wanted everyone to come back okay, and happy, but he knew it wouldn't happen. All he could do was protect Naruto. All he could do was watch, and wait.

And wait he did. He waited for hours, and hours. But nothing came. He closed his eyes, and drifted back into sleep, hoping tomorrow he could receive news of Karin's retrieval. He prayed, for the first time in his life.

* * *

''It appears to me that there is only one real way to retrieve Naruto without losing all of our ninja in the war.'' Danzo said, prideful look on his face. ''We shall revive Minato.'' As he said that, the elders eyes widened. They then began laughing. ''Impossible! If he was revivable, we would have done it already!'' Danzo gave them a hateful glare. Fools He thought, and then began explaining. And as he told them more, they began to recognize him as a great Hokage. How wrong they were.

In the morning, it began. Minato's revival. The village prayed for success, and success they got. As the man opened his eyes, people saw new faith in their life. He gave them hope. Hope he couldn't bring himself to crush. But, he one day would. One day, he would have to crush their spirits and put his son first. That day, however, was not today, and for now, he could let them be happy. Ignorance is bliss, right?

''As the current Hokage of the leaf village, I command you to use your special technique to flash to Naruto. Find him, and bring him back. Kill Shane if you must.'' Minato saw evil in this man. He did not want to listen to this man, and did not intend to. He had been watching his son this whole time. Long enough to realize that Naruto belongs in Danshokugakure. Long enough to see how much Shane loved him, and to know that he would destroy the leaf village in a second if it meant saving his Naruto.

Long enough to know that Naruto didn't deserve leaf s**t.

He thought to himself, smirk on his face. _Danzo is going to regret bringing me back, eh?_ And he was right. He really was.

* * *

Naruto awoke, panting. It felt like the world took a sudden shift. He didn't know what it was, but something felt so much different. He felt... happy. He looked at his sleeping lover, and just started smiling. He knew, deep inside, that this was going to be a day like no other.

Shane awoke, and saw his lover staring at him. He pulled him in for a kiss, and then decided to start getting ready. He thought about the look Naruto was giving him. It was a look of pure happiness. That look gave him back hope. That look caused him to spring into action. He wanted to thank his lover. He knew a few ways of how to do it, but one particular way he was extra skilled in....

He jumped Naruto, and immediately starting undressing him. Naruto was still a little surprised that he was starting off out of nowhere, but Naruto wanted it. He wanted it really, really bad. Shane finished unbuttoning his shirt, and starting kissing his nipples. He licked the tip, and then moved his head up to Naruto's neck. As he did that, he was moving his hands all over Naruto's chest, making Naruto moan. Shane got adrenaline out of that, and started to kiss his neck more passionately. He gave his lover a few hickeys, causing Naruto to moan even more.

He then pressed his lips against his lovers, and put his tongue in his mouth. Their tongues twisted and twirled around eachothers, and Shane broke away from the kiss to moan a little. He then began taking off Naruto's pants, and started sucking on the crotch area of Naruto's underwear. Naruto moaned loudly, and began petting Shane on the head. Shane then removed his shirt, and Naruto began licking Shane's abs. Shane moaned, and knew he couldn't take this much longer.

After about a minute of the foreplay, Shane wildly took of his pants, and started to rub his cock against Naruto's. They both moaned at this, and then Shane grabbed his lover, and put him against the floor. He continued to rub his cock against Naruto's, and decided he was going to introduce his young lover to a whole new world of sex. He had been going gentle on his lover before, but not now. Now he would show his lover just how far he could go to please him.

He moved downwards, sliding his tongue against Naruto's chest, and then, once he got to Naruto's penis, he licked it slowly, and lifted up Naruto's legs. Naruto wasn't sure what his lover was going to do, but he knew one thing: He was going to like it. And he did. Shane pushed Naruto against the bed, his head facing the opposite direction of Shane. Naruto thought he was just going to start giving him anal, but he was wrong. Shane kneeled down and pushed his face against Naruto's ass. And then, Naruto knew exactly where this was going.

Shane stuck his tongue inside of Naruto's ass, causing Naruto to moan intensely. It felt odd, but great. While Shane ate his ass out, Naruto began to masturbate. He licked his hands and began to rub his cock. He felt immense pleasure as Shane ate out his ass, and after a while he felt at his limit. He took his hand off his cock, and turned around. He grabbed Shane in for a kiss, and then started sucking Shane's cock. He slowly moved his head up and down, and Shane closed his eyes and began moaning. Naruto was very talented at oral, and this was Shane's favorite part of their sex.

After a while, Naruto felt he was ready again, and got himself into a 69 position. They both moaned. Shane couldn't hold his adrenaline anymore. He loved Naruto so much, and decided that it was time to get a homerun. He put his arms around Naruto's sides, and slowly moved him off of himself. Then, he grabbed Naruto, holding his cock up against the side of Naruto's ass, and got on the bed. Naruto sat on Shane's cock, and began to ride it up and down. Shane decided he was going to go faster and harder than ever, and moved his cock up and down at intense speed, causing Naruto to feel great pain and pleasure. Naruto had been masturbating the whole time, and felt him self at his limit.

He came, and turned around to give his lover a kiss. Shane came shortly after, and gave Naruto a soft, beautiful kiss. He felt something that he never felt before. He felt that him and Naruto were bound together, that they would never be apart. And he prayed this feeling was true. Suddenly, his worries washed away, and he began embracing Naruto. They were both naked, and Shane whispered in his lovers ear.

''I love you so much.. Naruto, will you marry me?''

And the world was still, waiting for an answer. Naruto replied. ''Yes, yes I will, my love.''


	22. Never Surrender MIRA

_**Never Surrender**_

"Mira! Haru!" Umbra called out as the two caught up to their team, "Neji says that we're almost caught up with the Akatsuki!"

"Good," Mira turned to the Hyuuga, "Is there any sign of Karin?"

He shook his head, "She's deep inside the hide-out and she seems alright, but..."

"There's a good five members of Akatsuki in there," Lee finished for him.

Mira chewed her lip, "That's not the worst news... much as I hate to say it," she looked at Neji and Lee, "Konoha's declared war on Danshoku."

Both stared at her in disbelief, then turned to each other.

"We're with you," Neji said quietly as Lee nodded, "Now let's get Karin back."

* * *

"Lord Kazekage! You can't be serious!" one council member said as he jumped up to speak, "Konoha has been..."

"Danshokugakure is much closer to us," Gaara folded his hands, "In fact the some of the land protected in their territory is part of our own. Konoha's war has been declared on our country."

"But the Hokage made it clear that..."

"And since when do we listen to other's demands? Are we to pay for the mistake we were goaded into a few years ago for the rest of eternity? The current hokage is not who I've made the treaties with, and from what I've seen of him so far, I do not wish to further drag our village's name down." he folded his hands, waiting for the next move they would make.

"What is the real reason? Are the rumors that you have a lover there true?" Gaara had to give that particular council member credit, it was quite possibly the bravest statement they had made.

And oh so predictable, "Of course I do." he stared at the council, daring any of them to speak after that.

They looked at each other, then back at him, "Then you admit..." one said, another bit his lip.

"Does it make any difference?" he asked, "Konoha still has declared war over Naruto... a nin that walked away on his own two feet from that village. Why should we have to clean up for Danzo's mess?"

"But the jinchuuriki... we should be protecting..."

"I have personally witnessed the protections that Naruto is placed under in Danshoku, he is safer there than he would be anywhere else."

"And what of the rumors that Akatsuki is on the move against Danshoku?"

"Those are also true. They kidnapped a small child from the village. I was about to prepare some units to help their anbu retrieve her."

Another look exchange between the council members and the head of them stood, "We will not send a single unit to aid that village until the Akatsuki have been neutralized... unless..." here he smirked, "Lord Kazekage, prove to us your intentions of aiding this village."

Behind him Temari started to interrupt, but Gaara raised a hand silencing her, "You are saying that I alone should be sufficient for the reinforcements we send to help in the rescue of the child?"

It was a risky move the council was making, and he saw through to see what it actually was, if he succeeded, another story of their great Kazekage for the people to worship and Danshoku would get the aid it needed, if he failed, then they could guilt-free choose another leader and stay away from this war, withdrawing back into their old isolation.

He stood, "Then I shall make ready to leave. Temari and Kankuro, I leave you both in charge of matters until you have word of my return."

His siblings nodded and he walked out of the council, allowing the sand to drift around him and fly him away.

Only when he had landed, a few miles away, did he allow himself to smile triumphantly. The council had done exactly what he wanted them to do, looking around, he felt for the trail left by Neji and the other nin who he knew had followed the Akatsuki.

There. They were heading to Fire Country. _A base that close to Konoha? _

The sand surrounded him again and he drifted away, following the clear cut path of chakra.

* * *

Yuko checked over the test results, ignoring the crying child huddled in the corner as she sat at her desk.

"I don't know why you care so much about finding that cure," Aleria snorted, "We have other business and it's not like it exists anyways."

"I was promised," the medic nin quietly said, "I have to keep a promise," she looked over at Karin, "Keep that brat quiet."

"Hey hey!" her partner smiled at the little girl, "You remember my snakes right?" she summoned a few, "Aren't they cute! I have a rabbit to feed them..."

Karin looked at her with horror filled green eyes before she gulped and wiped her tears away, "Where's Mommy?" she demanded.

"I...uh..." Aleria looked over at Yuko, "Where did Mira go off to anyways?"

"To look for the ANBU captain," the red-haired woman said, "Both of you be quiet."

The blue haired woman stuck her tongue out and sent her snake slithering to underneath Yuko's chair.

An explosion outside of the headquarters caused both women to look up, "Deidara, Itachi, go look into it," Sasori's tired voice said, "Yuko and Aleria, stay with the prisoner. The leader will be contacting us very soon."

Outside, Mira was preparing another of her attacks, as she cracked her knuckles, "Allora, on three..." she raised her fry pan as the blonde girl readied her whip.

Another explosion later, the side of the mountain opened up and as the smoke cleared, and Deidara and Itachi walked out.

"Someone who likes a bang as much as I do un," the blond Akatsuki grinned. Itachi said nothing.

"Umbra and I have got this," Lee said, "The rest of you go on ahead."

"You sure?" Neji asked.

The taijutsu master nodded, "I learned from Gai-sensei how to fight someone with sharingan. And Umbra can deflect any of Deidara's bombs."

"I'll stay and fight too," Allora said, "Dei-kun and I have a bit of unfinished business," she pulled tight her whip.

Mira, Neji, and Haru nodded as they ran inside the cave.

"Lee-sensei... they didn't try and stop them..." Umbra whispered.

"Do not worry on it now," he said to her, "Concentrate upon this fight!"

* * *

Sasori smiled, things were going according to the Leader's will, "Aleria, Yuko, I will take the girl now. Let the woman through... she has something the leader wants."

Both nodded as he took Karin and went deeper into the cave.

"Mira, Karin is down the left path," Neji said quietly, "There's one person with her."

"Then let's go," Haru said as he started to turn.

"Not so fast," Yuko's voice said, "I didn't go through all of my careful planning to have you ruin it all."

The blue haired nin's eyes darkened as he looked at her, "We trusted you. How could you betray us like that?"

"Please, I only care about one thing," she smirked, "And I think your blood might give me some answers."

"Mira, go after Karin," Neji said quietly, "I'll help Haru in this fight."

She nodded and ran down the path leading to her daughter.

* * *

"Umbra, use your glass jutsu to reflect the sharingan's powers away!" Lee shouted.

She nodded and threw up some walls around the both of them, and he tied a blindfold around her eyes and his, "Remember what I taught you," he whispered as she nodded.

Both jumped back into the fray.

Allora chased Deidara, "How could you leave without saying a word?" she called, "And now I find you in Akatsuki? We were having fun in the circus together!"

"I can make more art this way!" he yelled back, sending his birds flying towards her. She used her whip to explode them before they could contact her.

* * *

Mira ran down the hallway, "Karin?!" she called out.

She entered a large room and saw a small form lying on the bed in the middle, "Baby!" she called out, reaching for the form.

She stopped, something wasn't right, warily she took a step forward, gently took the blanket away from the form...

... it was a doll, she heard a rattling behind her and turned just in time to see the puppets converge upon her.

* * *

"Haru, to your right!" Neji called out as Haru summoned some water to deflect the scalpels flying at him. A snake slithered around to attack from their rear, which he used the gentle fist to defeat.

"Those things just keep coming," Haru panted.

"We just need to buy some time for Mira to rescue Karin... don't give up now, we have to make it back to the village," Neji whispered.

"What and enjoy your petty little games?" Yuko snorted in the darkness, "Haru... do you really think that Shane will always have time for you?"

"Don't listen," the brunet settled back into the fighting stance.

"I wasn't going to," Haru said, "I'm more worried about the silent one."

* * *

She looked up when she found that there was no pain from the last attack.

Gaara stood over her, "I knew you needed my help. I didn't think it was this bad." the sand barrier fell and with it the puppets as Mira shakingly stood up.

"Where's Karin?" she asked into the darkness.

"That's for me and Leader to know, and for you to die trying to find out," Sasori's amused voice came from the darkness as the tinkling of puppet strings sounded.

Back to back, she and Gaara stood, awaiting the next attack.


	23. I'm a Bad Father SHANE

_**I'm a bad father.**_

Minato was lost in thought. As always, he was hastily traveling. He couldn't wait to see his son for the first time since his birth, and he couldn't contain his excitement. He wanted to scream of his joy to any random person, but he would decide to keep appearance. When he got to his son, he would give him a long, passionate hug. And, my god he wanted to meet the lover of his son. He knows that he's been giving his son only the best treatment, and he wanted to thank him for it. However, seeing as how he had nothing to his name right now, he didn't know what with. Unless....'Let's.... not think about that.' He thought.

Finally, he arrived. The village was grand. As large as Konoha, it stood proudly in the wind country, and had a sea right next to it. It seemed like a great place to live, and was seeming to almost become... overpopulated. The streets were FILLED with people, or, at least it looked that way seeing as how they were all in one group chasing Kakashi. 'My student!' He thought. However, he decided to keep Kakashi in the dark as long as possible, as it would only cause trouble in the end. He flashed off to Shane's house, and he prayed this reunion would go well.

He knocked, ever so silently. He almost didn't want for anyone to answer, because he knew the conversation wouldn't turn out to be, ''Oh, hey, dad. I haven't seen you in 16 years. Sup?'' No one answered. He was about to knock again, but then he heard a loud moan. He didn't need to take a second guess. He knew what was what. He thought to himself, 'You'd figure in a house so big it'd be out of hearing range. My god my son is loud in bed.'

He jumped up to the balcony, and saw his son doing things a father wouldn't be proud of. He then decided that he would do a ballsy move. He knocked on the sliding doors outside of Shane's room. The curtains weren't on, as Shane simply loved to let the world see just how much he loved Naruto, and they both looked. They rubbed their eyes, almost in synchronization, and stared. 'Oh my god.' Naruto thought. 'It's my father.'

Minato blushed a little, as Naruto almost forgot that he was watching him get a** rimmed. However, he's seen it a thousand times before through Naruto's eyes, so it wasn't new to him. To Naruto, however, it looked like it was the end of the fucking world.

Shane, although surprised, wasn't about to let this ruin the sex. He kept going in and out, surprising Minato at his kink. However, Naruto was ashamed. He pushed the man away, got his clothes on, and opened the sliding door.

Their blue eyes met. ''...Father.'' Naruto said, almost with tears in his eyes. Minato smiled sincerely, and gave his son a hug. Shane felt truly happy for Naruto, and hugged him from behind. All thoughts of stress over war, the Akatsuki, and other, simply vanished from Naruto's mind. He was happy. He was truly, truly happy.

''Oh, my son. I have missed you so. I have really, really missed you. And I'm glad. I'm glad that while I was gone you were safe, and became strong.'' He said, as he held his son more tightly.

However, the festivities.... were cut short. Naruto fell to the floor. They almost laughed, for a second, thinking 'Wow! He actually fainted!' But, they saw it. This wasn't a faint of excitement. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

Dyzzi sat at her desk, bored. Just as she thought she was going to die of boredom and have her corpse yodel around the village, she got a phone call. ''Hello?'' She said, excitedly. ''Yaoikage-sama.'' It was Shane. This obviously wasn't for no reason, as her never called her that unless it was serious. ''...Yes?'' She said, hoping he was just looking to vent, or something.

''Naruto.. He fainted, and we sent him to the hospital. They diagnosed him... he has burning blood.'' Shane said, sounding like he was about to cry. ''What's that?'' she said, questioningly.

''It's the most rare disease in history. Naruto is the second person to have it ever, and the first one...he died, Dyzzi. He died.'' Shane said, and started crying. Everything was wrong. Everything was crumbling. He needed for all of this to end. He needed for the world to just be rainbows and puppies and flowers, even if only for a short while.

''...How did he get it?'' She said, in a despair filled voice. ''The Kyuubi...it's cells are overpowering. Naruto was able to resist them completely, and even use them to heal himself, when Minato was inside of him, but now that he's out, they are overpowering Naruto. They are killing his cells, and then turning them into more Kyuubi cells. The mitosis rate of these cells are extremely high, and the cells are painful. They turn your blood cells into more of their own, and it feels like your veins are burning 24/7. They... they told me... it might be best... to just kill him.'' He said, and started crying again.

She didn't know what to do. She slammed her hand against her desk, and said, ''Shane, I'll find you the best doctor in the whole world. I'll make sure you don't lose him. I promise, Shane. I promise.'' She hung up, and started crying. She felt like having a nervous breakdown, and it sucked. She wanted to. She wanted to, so bad. She needed to just release all of her stress and go on a rampage, or else she would explode.

Shane held Naruto's hand. ''It huuuurts Shane! It huuuurts! Make it stop! I know you have to be able to do something!'' Shane cried as he watched. He couldn't. He couldn't do anything. A tear dropped onto Naruto's forehead. Naruto began crying, too. He cried because he knew that Shane couldn't protect him this time. He cried because he knew it wasn't going to be alright. He cried because he knew he would never be able to feel safe again. He cried because he was going to die, and nothing could change that. He only hoped that one day, he would meet Shane, and his father, and Haru, and they could all be together and eat ramen, and play strip poker. He smiled at the thought. However, he noticed Shane wasn't there anymore. He looked at the clock. Visiting hours were over, and so was his life.

The man sat outside of the hospital, crying. Minato, feeling guilty, grief stricken, and weak, cried with him. They held eachother, held eachother like a married couple crying over their sons death. They needed eachother now, and they knew it. What hurt the most was that they would be together, behind Naruto's back while he was in great agony? They felt like monsters, but it was only human. They held eachother tightly, and they kissed.

''Shane...'' Minato said, releasing from the kiss for a second.  
''..What?'' Shane said, still feeling guilty, unable to grasp his pain. ''I'm... a bad father.'' Minato said, crying. ''I'm a really, really bad father.''

AUTHORS NOTES:  
I don't mean his life is literally over, I mean, it feels like it's over.


	24. Shine MIRA

_**Shine**_

Quietly he waited, his puppets hanging above the two below as he sized his opponents up. _The jinchuuriki for the one tailed and the firestarter that ran away from the Leaf. Interesting that they teamed up together…_

He flexed his fingers, sending out one of his favorite, though seldom used, puppets, one he had carefully rebuilt after his defeat at the hands of his grandmother and the pink haired brat.

_Kazekage against Kazekage… let's see whose sand is stronger… _Sasori smirked as he watched the floor below move, converging on the woman.

_Don't worry… you won't smother… yet…_

Mira didn't even have time to call out to Gaara as she disappeared beneath the iron sand.

"_Don't panic!" _Phoenix's voice sounded in her mind, _"You can still breathe… there's some reason they're keeping you alive."_

_You! _Mira's eyes widened, _They're after the stone! Somehow they know about the eidolons… which means that Shane's in danger too!_

* * *

"Watch out," Haru yelled as he and Neji dodged another onslaught. Suddenly calm, his eyes turned silver as he stopped and cut his thumb with his kunai and forming several seals, he knelt down and pressed his palm out on the cavern floor, "Neji, you take on Aleria, I'll take Yuko."

"She's more powerful than she led us to believe," the Hyuuga whispered, "Be careful." He left at that leading the snakes and their master away, right as bones rose from the ground, forming into three skeletons.

"Interesting," Yuko's voice sounded, "I thought that your blood was odd to begin with, but if you have the Mephistopheles Gene, then you're exactly the one I've been looking for."

"I don't know about all that," Haru said, "But I can't forgive you for lying to us all these years and taking Karin."

There was no verbal answer as water rushed towards him, quickly going past the skeletal warriors at Haru's command and his eyes widened at the feeling of a sharp prick and some fluid being drawn… painfully…

"The hell?" he muttered, directing his puppets to the source of the wave, for now ignoring the pain, "What are you trying to do Yuko?"

She jumped back from the axe swung by the first of the skeletons, catching a vial as the water returned to her, "Your blood will give me the answer I've been looking for," she placed the vial in her kunai holster, "And for the record, I never once lied to any of you. You knew who I worked for when I was allowed into your village."

"We were led to believe that you had left them," he narrowed his eyes, and the next skeleton swung his weapon, just barely missing her, "Even when Itachi came to Danshoku… we thought that you were done taking orders, you even helped us find Naruto!"

"Our leader is after something much better," she smirked, "We had a new source of information and already found one of the stones, even if it is broken... But then, our new member told us how to get more."

He stepped back, readying his scythe, "Yuko… what happened to that dream of curing Itachi and living happily with him?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," she rushed him, "Only Leader-san's orders matter now."

* * *

"Go back to your village," Itachi said, strangely still as he faced down Umbra and Lee, "Terrible events are unfolding. I'm dead anyways, don't waste your strength."

"We cannot leave Karin alone!" Lee shouted as Umbra nodded energetically, "There's no telling…"

A squawk overhead caused both to look up. "There's the first event," Itachi mused as the messenger hawk landed at their feet, "What does that letter say?"

Umbra lifted her blindfold, "Lee?""Read it, it's urgent or the Lady Yaoikage would not have sent it," Lee said quietly.

She took the letter gingerly from the hawk's talon, read it and gasped, "Lee! It's Naruto… he's dying…"

"What?" Lee ran over to his student, tears in his eyes as he read the letter, "No… it's not possible…"

"If I give you a medic who can cure the jinchuuriki, you must give Yuko a full pardon," Itachi said quietly as both stared at him, "It's the only thing I ask."

He disappeared then into a murder of crows.

"Umbra, let's go after the others," Lee said, "We must end the fights quickly! Naruto needs us!"

* * *

Gaara had turned in time to see Mira disappear in the sand and immediately moved into action, throwing the sand he controlled to all corners, searching beyond the puppets for their master.

Suddenly, he felt an immense heat coming from where the woman had vanished from and he pulled the sand back around him.

Flames exploded in the room, the heat carried even further by the metal in the iron sand, and Mira shot up out from where she had been taken.

"I don't go down that easily," she said as the flames went down, the sand fell away from Gaara's shield and she could have sworn he was smiling at her…

Sasori's next attack came before either could react to it though.

"Hanami Dango!" fiery fists exploded through the puppets as Gaara's sand crushed others, both inching closer to the puppet master.

"There's so many," Mira breathed after a few moments, punching through another onslaught.

"Direct your fire to cover me," Gaara whispered as he passed close by, "I found her."

She nodded, eyes still grim as Sasori came out to where they could see him, _Phoenix… I'm going to need a good push of power here._

"All you have to do is ask," the eidolon's voice sounded.

Mira nodded and fire domed up around herself and Gaara, "Phoenix's Nova," she whispered and as the sand retrieved Karin from the cage she was in and pulled her safely into Gaara's arms inside the sand shield, the room exploded once more in flames, engulfing everything in it.

* * *

Yuko groaned, struggling to stand up, _When did Haru get so…_

He edged closer, readying his scythe for the final strike.

"Haru!" Umbra called out, "An urgent message from the village!"

He turned to see her and Lee running towards him, "What…"

"It's Naruto!" Lee called, "He's…" his lips quivered.

"Go with them," Itachi said quietly as he helped up Yuko, "You can cure him."

"I'm not leaving you!" she argued.

"It's too late for me," the Uchiha smiled as he placed a hand on her abdomen, "But it's not too late for you or our child. You don't belong in the Akatsuki Yuko. No matter what Sasori says."

"Karin wasn't hurt," Mira's voice said, and the others turned to see her and Gaara come through the tunnel, "No harm done, Yuko, if you can save him, then we need to leave now."

The red-head medic turned from Itachi to look at the others, friends that she had betrayed…

Mira smiled at her, "You do crazy things for those you love. Now let's get going home."

Yuko turned back to Itachi, "I'll be back for you," she whispered.

He kissed her forehead, "Next time then."


	25. Passing the Torch SHANE

_**Passing the torch.**_ Early note: If you don't understand, go move to Europe and take Italian, foo'.

"_Ciò è scopare doloroso_! _Rendagli l'arresto_! _Rendagli l'arresto_!"  
Naruto said. Shane had taught him Italian, deciding he would need to follow his heritage, and maybe Shane regretted it a little. The doctors, although they were sad over it, they were complaining about Naruto's constant swearing, saying it was scaring the children, so he started to do it in Italian.

''_Cazzo_! _Cazzo_! _Sta cominciando ancora in su_!'' Naruto said, for hours the pain has been off and on, but it's better than before. After his waking up, he was screaming for hours straight, begging for Shane to do something. Shane couldn't cry anymore. He never thought that it was possible to use up all of your tears. He couldn't cry, but he could be sad. He felt even worse now that he couldn't cry, because it was a release. It made him feel expressed, and lowered the pain, and sadness. Although Naruto was the only one in true agony, both Shane and Minato were feeling it. The feeling of hopelessness is contagious.

"Shane! _Perché siete che non fate nulla_?" Naruto said, whining in pain. No, Shane felt bad to think so. Not whining, simply just... expressing himself. Shane decided he could try to comfort him with words again, although previous attempts failed. "Naruto, _siete un forte_, _forte ragazzo. Ci è niente che non possiate fare_. " Shane said, crying. ''Nothing you cannot do...''

Yuko felt it inside of her. Her baby. It was growing, growing ever so quickly, begging to be released. She knew that she couldn't fight for a while, and she didn't want to. Everything was naught now that Itachi was gone. Everything was pointless, and all it lead to was death and destruction. All of this... All she has done... Naruto would be okay if it wasn't for her, Karin would be safe, Mira and Shane would be happy together again, smiling, arguing about kitchen buttsecks, which was the only argument she could find to be friendly.

She was at a point of regret, but she couldn't let it weaken her. She knew very well just what Jinchuriki diseases could do, and she would need to be at her very best. She couldn't let herself be distracted, not even by Itachi's death. Because my god she didn't want another death on her hands. She started to draw chakra on herself, because she needed a huge reserve to be able to suppress all of those bad Kyuubi cells. She was going to have to get his Kyuubi seal strengthened back to stage one, where Naruto could only use the one tails, and it was going to be hard.

She arrived, at last, and not to a good sight. Fangirls everywhere were praying on the street, wearing black clothes, and mourning over Naruto as if he were already dead. Praying was what hit her the most. Shane.. he illegalized praying. This shows.... just how desperate he is right now. To even hope for a higher power to save him. Yuko felt disgusted by herself. She let all of this go on, and never shed a tear over their loss. But now she did, now she cried. She cried for her baby, she cried for Naruto, she cried for Shane, she cried for Karin, and all of those sent to rescue her. She cried for her love, Itachi, and she knew that he cried for her. Up wherever he was, he was watching her, crying over their lost love, but protecting her.

And when she entered the hospital, she saw just how bad it was. Seats all over the floor, trash cans kicked over, nurses all hiding in the workers lounge. She had seen Shane sincerely mad before, and it wasn't pretty. But she never saw him nearly this bad. And she heard him arguing with Minato.

''I feel so damn useless! Why can't I do anything? My words aren't even doing anything! If anything, they're just making him feel worse! Why am I such a failure?'' Shane said, in a voice she's never heard before. He sounded so lost, so wanting, so dissapointed in himself. She had to set this right. She HAD to.

''Shane, this isn't helping. Naruto wants you to be calm, he wants you to be strong, like you told him to be.'' Minato said, trying to calm the rampaged man down. ''But how can I be calm, father? How can I be calm when when the one I love is dying? How do you handle it, father? How do you not die in despair?'' 'Father?' Did he call Minato father? Once he got married to Naruto, he'd be his father, yes, but not until then. Why would he call him that?

''Shane, you're not alone. We can help him together, now.'' Minato said, almost feeling futile. ''But I was... I was all alone and scared when my brother left me.. I came to the only people who would help me, and even they doubted me. I couldn't help him, and what is going to change about this time? Will I die alone, and lose all that I love? Why, father, why did you have to have such a failure of a son? Why..?'' Shane said, crying on Minato's shoulder. Minato was confused. He didn't feel the same Shane he felt when he watched him through Naruto's eyes. He saw a young, helpless young boy in doubt. He saw a son aching for a fathers love he never got.

''Shane... why do you call me father? Why do you look into my eyes and give me that look that you believe it is so? Do you really... believe I'm your father?'' Minato said, hoping to not anger him. ''Father, you left me when I was so young. You died, and left me and John behind. You never helped to teach me what it was to be a man, what to do when you felt despair, nothing. And now you are here, in the time that I need all of those lessons, all of those teachings you never gave me, and expect me to know what to do? I've always needed you father, and you were never here. Why... why did you forsake me, father? Why....? Shane snuggled Minato, and held him tighter. Minato felt it. Shane really felt like He was his father. But, how? How could he think such? Minato had to know.

''Sometimes, I wonder.. if I'm the man you wanted me to be. Sometimes, I wonder, if you turn in your grave when you see me do the things I do, say the things I say, and fight the fights that I fight. Sometimes, I wonder if you're ashamed of me, father. You held me so high, once, but now I wonder if you don't want to watch me anymore. What if you let your gaze on me disappear, because you were disgusted by your sons actions? Would you leave me again, father? Would you ever say goodbye one last time?'' Shane said, holding Minato tighter. Minato understood, now. Shane was begging for the love of the father he never truly had, finding it anywhere he saw a father figure.

''No, my son. I'd never leave you, I'll always be here for you, but it is time to pass the torch. You must look over the one you protect, the one you watch over, and you must cradle your flame tight. Love him as much as you possibly can, and he will never leave you. I trust you, my son, please put it to use.'' Minato said, letting go of Shane, and walking into Naruto's room. But, he heard Shane's words.

''I'm not afraid anymore, Daddy. There is nothing I cannot do.''

Yuko finally showed herself, and helped Shane up, still tearing up. She overheard the whole conversation, and now understood what exactly was plaguing Shane. He suffered from Multi Personality Disorder, and this was just one of his persona's. It is common for people who have that to one second be calm, next second want to destroy the world, and then the next become a helpless child. Shane never exhibited such before, as some cases never show unless they are put into a corner so small it begs for release. However, now was not the time to try and help Shane, it was Naruto who needed her.

Hours passed, and then she exited the room. ''It is done. Your boy is cured.'' she said, still holding guilt in her eyes.

''Yuko, you have done me a great boon, and I will never forget this. I won't forget, ever. And, I forgive you for what you have done, and I want to welcome you back to Dansho. However, we must focus on the battle at hand, and destroy Akatsuki. We have much to do, and little enough time to do it, so let us get started. Minato, send Mira reinforcements, and I will stay and prep Naruto for the battle. We will leave together once he is ready to leave, and not before. Good luck...'father.' '' Shane laughed, really feeling like a nut inside. But it was okay, because he knew Minato didn't judge him. One day, Minato really would be like his father, excluding the fact that they want to bed eachother, but that's okay, he ain't related by blood. Shane had a little giggle, and got started.

Shane thought to himself. 'Father, I will protect what you gave me with all of my heart. This torch.. its light will never go out.

Authors notes:  
After a while of thinking, 'Hm, what would Naruto's race be? I decided he'd be North Italian, because his tan, along with his blue eyes and blonde hair, is perfect. If not that, he would be German, which would also explain the huge ego, but his personality seems to be more Italiano.  
And, yes, I'm giving my character MPD, just for the epicosity.


	26. Cry Over Me MIRA

**_Cry Over Me_**

Mira chewed the inside of her cheek as she watched the battle lines nearing Danshoku, incredibly grateful that Yuko was able to get to the village to help Naruto, that Karin was safe and in the shelter with the other children that lived in Danshoku…

And for the man standing next to her, someone she still dared not to reveal her feelings for. No matter what she couldn't take away the happiness he now had.

Still, when Karin had woken up in his arms…

"_Daddy!" the little girl cried, hugging Gaara, "You came for me!"_

_Mira and Haru exchanged a wary glance, both unsure of what to say… how to tell the small girl that her real father had…_

"_Of course," Gaara had replied, embracing Karin, "I wouldn't let you get hurt."_

_He looked over at Mira, who mouthed a silent "Thank You."_

"They brought reinforcements from Kiri and Kumo," Gaara said quietly, breaking her line of thoughts, "The army from Iwa that joined our cause won't be here for another few days."

She looked over at him, "We need to break up their lines of communications, see if we can draw some of their shinobi to our side," she turned back to look at the few nin that Dyzzi had been able to send, "They all came from different villages, there weren't children born in Danshoku until a little while ago. It's a place of sanctuary, a place to escape the damn world of ninja," her fists clenched, "So I'm grateful that you're helping us fight to keep it a place where we can make it so."

"I want to see how the world without war will be," he said quietly.

She smiled, "It's going to be beautiful," she promised.

"Mira!" Umbra called, "Neji found some more members of the Akatsuki heading this way!"

She ran over to the Hyuuga, "Where?" she asked

"They're closing in on us from that direction," he pointed, "Three of them."

She peered through the bushes, "Umbra, hand me the binoculars," she said quietly, almost recognizing one of the chakra signatures that was approaching.

The purple haired kunoichi handed her the lenses, and Mira looked through them, suddenly turning pale as they fell from her hand.

"What's the matter?" Neji asked, staring at her.

She didn't have to look at Umbra to see the worried gaze, or at Haru to see the eyes widen as she whispered, "It's Kei…"

"Your husband?" Gaara asked, "But he…"

"He was alive the whole time," Haru bit his lip, "Mira was right all along about that."

"There's more isn't there," the Kazekage looked at her, "What happened?"

"He betrayed us," she whispered, playing with the golden ring still on her finger, "It was him that started the experiments that we had believed John to be responsible for… he used us…used me… all this time."

She looked forward, "Lord Kazekage, if you would, please lead the Danshoku army in addition to the Suna. I'll go against the Akatsuki."

"Mira, you…" Haru started, but silenced when she glanced over at him.

"This is my battle, Haru and Umbra, take the other two Akatsuki on. Lee and Neji stay here and watch out for any more news from Danshoku or Dyzzi. There's a chance we'll be getting more reinforcements." She pulled on her gloves, "ANBU Formation 5, Let's go!"

She, Haru, and Umbra disappeared leaving the others in the clearing.

Neji and Lee walked back towards the armies, but Gaara glared at something in the grass, the sand whipped out and picked up the golden band that Mira had thrown down, something he was certain that only he noticed.

"Sand Coffin," he whispered as he crushed the ring, meshing it into the grains of his sand. A small smile formed on his lips as he looked into the forest where he knew Mira to be.

Turning, he returned to his armies, preparing for the war ahead of him.

* * *

Haru and Umbra separated from her, each heading to their own battle. Mira landed in a clearing in front of the dark haired man, "Kei."

"Ah, my useless wife. I see you've met my new friends," he smirked at her, "I should thank you. I had no idea that cracked stone was actually worth something, I thought it was like you, a failed experiment."

"Nothing was real then," she flared her fists to prep for the fight, "Did you ever feel anything for me?"

"Of course not. You were a toy that I threw away when I broke it," cold green eyes stared at her, "A game I played to pass the boredom," he laughed as he quickly formed seals, "You've forgotten something little bitch. I control water jutsu, and I have a trump card. You won't be coming back again."

She stepped back as she saw a glowing green stone appear in his hand, _Of course he would have one too. _

"_Watch out!" _Phoenix yelped_, "That's…"_

"Leviathan!" Kei shouted as a long green serpent appeared above him.

Mira launched herself forward, dodging the wave that suddenly appeared, "Hanami Dango!" she yelled directing her punches at him.

He caught it, and spun her, throwing her down, "Still pathetic." he smirked, "This time I'll make sure you sink down so far there's no way to come back.

She glared at him, struggling as she stood, "Is it so easy for you to feel nothing for me?"

There was no emotion on his face as another tsunami rushed towards her.

Suddenly she was calm, the storm of emotions that started when she saw him with Shane and John had disappeared, the ache of loneliness of the five years waiting on his return gone.

_Once I did love him. But it wasn't him was it? It was the dream I believed in._

Still, despite all he had done, she couldn't hate him. Because of that dream, she believed in bringing happiness to others. Shane wouldn't have Naruto if it weren't for that, Haru would have been alone, Umbra never would have had the courage to confess to Lee.

Gaara wouldn't have Neji…

_It was a beautiful dream while it lasted, but I suppose I had to wake up sooner or later._

Tears formed in her eyes, the last she would cry over Kei, and they weren't even for him, they were for what she had once believed him to be, the family she once had...

Now her family was so much better.

The tsunami closed in on her.

She merely smiled, "Phoenix Dawn," she whispered as white gold wings erupted from her back, the red stone glowing as the water in the massive wave steamed away. She looked at Kei, "Your eidolon isn't as strong as you hoped," she noted as the Leviathan crumbled away into black embers, retreating into the stone.

"Bitch!" he yelled as he rushed her, hands forming seals to his water jutsu.

His attacks merely steamed as they hit the air around her, "Your heart is weak," she said quietly, "You will never be able to call upon the eidolons with such a thing."

"Then how have you mastered one?" he demanded.

"I have defeated you, remove yourself from these lands and never return."

"You can't even kill me!" he laughed, "You're still a weakling who believes in love and friends!"

She looked at him with sad eyes, "No I won't kill you. Even though you did what you did. But I don't consider myself weak for this." she flung her hand out and wires bound him, "You are part of the Akatsuki. The Lady Yaoikage will be needing the information you have."

"You'll get nothing from me," he ignored him, as reinforcements arrived, the interrogation squad took him away to retrieve the information.

The wings faded from her and she turned to head back to the frontlines.


	27. There Is Nothing We Cannot Do SHANE

**There is nothing we cannot do.**

"Oh Shaneee!" Naruto said, as he ran up to snuggle Shane. It had been a few days, and Naruto finally felt back to normal. Shane and Naruto were getting prepared to attack Akatsuki head on, and Shane was confident he could do it. In fact, with Naruto at his side, he felt like he could do anything. And, maybe he could. Maybe, just maybe, love made him invincible. Minato told him so, when Shane was calling him daddy. He told him that if you love someone enough, they'll never leave you. But is this true? Were his parents always at his side, standing there like his protectors? Many times, he had almost died, but miraculously, he survived. Was it will, like he had taught himself? Or, was it really them?

Shane had never pondered such before, so he was... surprised at the thought. Lately, alot of things that he had never thought, or cared, about have been crossing his mind. But, right now, all he wanted to think about was Naruto. For, he was in for a surprise. He wouldn't let him go out and risk his life in battle without having something to remember, right?

''Okay, let's go now, Naruto! My god you take ages to get rea-'' He immediately shut his mouth when he saw Naruto walk out of his room. Ooh la la He was preparing for a date, and this was perfect. It's as if Naruto read his mind, even though he still didn't know they were going on one..

Naruto broke the silence. ''You like?'' He said, walking over to kiss Shane. They kissed, passionately, Shane biting Naruto's lower lip, twisting their tongues together. Shane proceeded to give Naruto a hickey, and, although he didn't want to stop there, Naruto made him. ''Psh, Shane. We don't have time for this. Akatsuki isn't going to wait.'' Shane wasn't so sure about the date after hearing that, but he proceeded anyways. ''Yeah, let's go.''

As they were walking out of the village, Shane pulled Naruto's hand once they walked by Shane's cuisine. He had put up the restaurant for him and Naruto to have a perfect date, and he wouldn't go back on that. Although Naruto didn't even know he had started it, he made it as a surprise, as compensation for all of the pain Naruto had been going through. He wanted to start over. He needed to start over. All of this was hindering their relationship, keeping it back from its true potential. They would begin their new life together, starting from this, and continue to destroy their old life. Akatsuki. Konoha. It was all just there.. in their way, in their way of the pursuit of happiness.

''Shane, why are we stopping? And, I've never seen this place before. Don't tell me you're hungry.'' Naruto chuckled, and then got a hug from Shane. ''The start of our new life starts here, and I'm going to make it the best date you've ever had. I promise.'' Shane wanted to kiss Naruto, but he couldn't yet. He would do it at the height of the date, and he would make it the best kiss Naruto would ever have. He would, and he knew he could. He could cradle the flame given to him, and he would pass the warmth of it upon his lover.

They walked in, and Naruto's eyes widened. Shane had prepared a fucking armada of waiters, cooks, and musicians. Naruto was surprised that he really prepared so much for this, seeing as how it seemed to be on such notice. Well, he was the second most powerful person in Dansho, so I guess he can do alot of things on short notice. Wonder how much he payed these guys?

As soon as they sat down, Shane started up. ''Naruto, I must tell you something, before anything. I want to let you know that I'm sorry I couldn't control myself in the hospice, I'm sorry I let you go through it all alone, and I'm sorry for not... not telling you this.'' Shane said, apologetically.

''Telling me what?'' Naruto questioned. ''For not.. for not telling you just how much I love you. I couldn't express it before. I couldn't manage to sum up words to express how much I love you, and now, I know. Now I know that I love you more than all of the beauties, all of the splendors, all of the wonders of Europe. I love you more than I love life itself, and I'd gladly give that for you. I'd do anything and more for you, and I want to let you know that. I want to let you know that as long as I have your face, your lips, your hands, that I'll be the happiest man alive, whatever the cause. I thought after Saisei killed me I was truly found, but I wasn't. And now I am. Saisei never was my rebirth. It was you, it was you all along. And I thank you. I sincerely thank you, Naruto. From the bottom of my heart and deeper, I thank you. And, I just want to tell you.. that I'll prove it. By the end of our year, you'll believe me. You'll believe me that I love you as much as I say. No, more. Because maybe, just maybe, I still couldn't express my love. It is too great, and even that is an understatement.''

Naruto felt so special. To be the true desire of the most sought after man in Dansho, well, it felt quite wonderful. He needed to do this. He leaned over to kiss his lover, their lips about to touch...

BOOM. They were pushed to the floor, the walls of Shane's precious restaurant utterly destroyed. He summoned Arniel to fly the workers to somewhere safe, and the smoke subsided. It was... It was Pain. He had hoped it would be someone weaker, like Konan, or Zetsu, but he didn't always get what he wanted. He knew that they'd come to take their prized Nine Tailed Fox one day, and I guess that today was it. And, damn he wanted vengeance. They ruined what would have been the best kiss of their life. Damn Akatsuki, no patience. And Shane wasn't going to be patient, either. He had no intention to go easy on Pain like he does others, as he was mad at him now. And Shane mad was never pretty. He immediately got to the business.

''Saisei.'' As Saisei came out of the bracelet and landed behind Shane, he said softly, ''There is nothing we cannot do.''

Pain immediately got serious, too, and brought out all six pains. Then, he had the summoner use all of her summons at once, all six, and had her try to occupy Naruto. ''Take this boy alive, but let him know true pain, first.'' Shane was disgusted by what Pain had just said. He didn't even bother to look into his eyes a second longer, and immediately shot a Chidori Stream into the heart of the resurrection Pain. ''Now, no trying to resurrect any of you, Ne?'' Shane smirked. He knew he could not lose. That line, that statement... It repeated over and over in his head. And, there was reason, for there was nothing he could not do. He summoned Susano'o, and merged him with Saisei. Together, they became the god of the new seas, as Shane called it, but he gave him a nickname. It was Lukewarm. For, Susano'o was utter darkness, and Saisei was a being of pure light. Together, they were an ultimate melding of light and darkness, and Shane was proud of his craftsmanship. Lukewarm was very skilled in offense and defense, however, them being fused together took alot out of Shane. He could only hold Lukewarm up for 10 minutes, and he was going to make it last. Ten minutes. That's all I have. Father, there is nothing I cannot do.


	28. Lost Heaven MIRA

_**Lost Heaven**_

They made a quiet camp that night and Mira walked a bit away from the others, staring out at the fires in the camps for Konoha and it's allies.

The news had came with the reinforcements that Naruto was alright and that he and Shane would be leaving as soon as he recovered to help them fight.

Mira sighed a breath of relief at that, she had been greatly worried, there was no reason for any more loss in her teammates life, and she held Haru who had cried so happily at the news for a few moments before they worried about the upcoming war.

Haru and Umbra had defeated their Akatsuki foes without any difficulty, something that worried her, there was ample evidence that they were supposed to be going against the strongest...

_Even Kei seemed weaker compared to the battle Gaara and I fought against Sasori. We only won that through luck… And Allora only won against Deidara because they ended up "catching up" more than fighting._

Allora was almost in tears after her fight, Deidara had chosen to stay with the Akatsuki. Mira hoped there was a way to save him and Aleria, another of her comrades who was still a member of that organization.

_Maybe if we can somehow defeat their leader… Kei should be able to give the information we need._

Her eyes saddened at the thought of her husband, she doubted that those wounds he inflicted mentally upon her would ever truly heal.

And even more frightening, she knew that if he asked, there was a possibility that she would take him back. There was still a part of her that would always love him, even if it was all a lie.

She shook her head, _Best not to think of such things._ She rubbed her left hand, where the pale skin showed where she used to wear her ring. Without the weight, she felt at once naked and free.

"Is there a red string for me anywhere?" she whispered glancing down at the white band of even paler than normal skin on that finger, "Or am I fated only to help others find their happiness."

She looked up to the stars. She could live without her own love, it was something she had accepted after Kei's initial disappearance.

Still… there had been many days when she wished she could go to sleep and never, ever wake up in this cruel world.

She shook her head, "If this world is cruel, then I should work to make it less so." She was happy with her life she decided. Karin was not always the perfect child, who was, but she was proud to be Karin's mother. She was ecstatic to be considered Umbra's adoptive mother, a little sister to both Shane and Dyzzi, a big sister to Haru…

As for Gaara and Neji… she chewed her lip, what was she to them, the two that had made her felt emotions she long had forgotten about as she quietly watched over their affair? Did they even really think of her at all?

_I've no right. They're happy together. And I helped them find that happiness, it's enough._

"You should be resting," a voice said as grains of sand drifted around her, both announcing Gaara's presence, "You need to be at full strength for this battle."

"It would be rude of me to complain about the inability to sleep tonight," she smiled at him, "But the same could be said of you, you should be resting as well."

"How did you keep from raging?" he asked, "When I was betrayed as you were I was broken."

"You were also five," she closed her eyes, "And you didn't have anyone to lean on for support," she turned to him, "So I suppose you helped keep me from breaking… you and everyone else."

A soft glow came from the gem around her neck, "And of course Phoenix is a good deal nicer than Shukaku seemed to have been."

She didn't see him cross over to her, almost gasped when his fingers touched the glowing necklace, "Age and wisdom had nothing to do with it?" he asked, and she smiled at the slight teasing tone.

"I'm not that much older than you," she pointed out, "And you're very mature for your age. Naruto's a year older and he acts like Karin at times."

He gave her the smallest of smiles, "Lee's two years older and he has the energy of your daughter. I suppose maturity varies from person to person," he still held the gem, "This is the weapon that they want? There are legends I found in the library, that these rival the power of the bijuu."

"We can't let the Akatsuki get them, I have a feeling that if in the wrong hands…" her voice trailed off.

"What Shukaku and I did in my rage will be nothing compared to the destruction that will happen then," he finished for her, "How many stones are there? Do you know?"

She shook her head, _Phoenix do you?_

There was no answer, a sign that the bird-maiden had no clue either.

He nodded, gently letting go of the stone, "Mira…" he bit his lip, "No, it's not important right now," he whispered, "We need to check the perimeter of the camp. There's something more I need to tell you, but it can wait until after this foolishness is over."

Suddenly, he was gone in a swirl of sand. She stood there, dazed for a moment as she stared after him, then she shook her head, and went to check on the guards for their camp.

* * *

It was like that for the next few days, she and Gaara were sharing the leadership of Suna's and Danshoku's joint armies, and the two poured over the strategy, she giving nervous glances to the armies edging closer to the Wind Country's border. At night neither slept, so both kept watch, letting their nin get to full strength.

"Let them come," Gaara had spoke as he directed the ballistas on the cliff overlooking where they predicted the army would cross the border, "I'm more worried about the Akatsuki than the fools who mistreated my friends."

She nodded, "Still… I don't like that we have to fight a war."

"We'll make that world one day," he said quietly.

"Mira!" Umbra shouted, "Message from Dyzzi! Shane and Naruto just left Dansho! Haru's getting ready to go meet them!"

"That's great news!" Mira grinned, "Neji, you help Gaara direct these, I'm going with him."

The Hyuuga nodded, and she smiled briefly at the two, already deep in conversation, as she left the armies with Haru, heading towards the storm clouds forming near Danshoku.

"That's odd weather for this time of year," the blue haired nin said quietly.

A worried look passed over her face, _Did we somehow miss something?_ "Let's hurry and head back," she said, "Something's not right."

He nodded and both rushed towards Shane and Naruto.


	29. The Stars SHANE

_**The Stars**_ Early note: Connect Odin to Saisei, for he is more like a premature, unevolved version. If you disagree, then whatevs. D:

''Why do you hinder our process? We created Akatsuki to make a new world. You wanted a new world, did you not? Did you not flee from your old life to find acceptance? Did you not hate the ideals of these foolish countries?'' Pain said, somehow trying to persuade Dansho into joining them. However, Shane knew better. ''Because, this world will never be your ideal. The overthrowing and reformation is always going to happen, and it's always going to involve war. If you controlled the people, they'd feel no freedom. They'd fight for it, and that's war. Maybe.. maybe they'd lose. But, out of the millions, they will always have one person to fight. One person to start a rally and attempt to overthrow you. No peace will come, only more death. And, plus, many leaders arose promising peace, but they became corrupt the second power met their eye. It wasn't about the people anymore. It was about them.''

''True, but sometime or later, we'll need to give this a try. We'll need to have a revolution one day, and that day is now. We are fighting for our future, but the past fights back. We must abolish the ninja society we have now, and change it for the better. And, the leaders of this revolution, will be Akatsuki.'' Pain said, still attempting to suade. ''You know what? You're blind. And, you're wasting my time. Every moment I spend talking to you, is another moment I could be rimming my fiancee. May you find mercy in the afterlife, for you won't find any here.'' Suddenly, Konan joined the fight. She was already in her Angel form, and was ready to fight. This fight was going to be tough, but he believed he could do it. I wonder how Naruto's fight is going? He wondered. He didn't get enough time, though. Konan threw a paper Javelin at him. Right, time to fight.

Arniel returned, and came to Shane's side. Shane, preferring to fight the main Pain without any distraction, sent Arniel and Lukewarm after the other 4 Pain's, one being dead, and Konan. The main Pain shouldn't be a problem without his followers, unless he uses Shinra Tensei. That... would be bad. Shane had a plan, though. He knew about the increments between Pain's pushing/pulling, and he knew just what to do. He shot 5 fireballs up in the air, and, with one hand, started charging up Kirin. With the other, he was charging Chidori Stream. Pain pulled him, knowing what would happen otherwise, but Shane was glad. This was perfect. He pointed his hand at Pain, and stream shot out. However, Konan made a paper clone for Pain, and Pain attempted to stab him from behind. Shane quickly turned around, and slashed a bit of Pain's shoulder with his stream, but then saw a bunch of rockets rushing to him. Oh no.

He called Lukewarm to use the Yata Mirror, and deflected the attacks. Then, he had Arniel charge Pain. Once Arniel was repulsed, he shot Kirin. It had seemed he failed. The Kirin was blocked by a giant ball, Shinra Tensei, and shot back up into the sky. Pain sucked up nearly a third of the village to do this, and Shane was pissed. He closed, and then opened his eyes. ''Amaterasu.'' And, it simply hit another paper clone. He decided he couldn't do this with Konan alive, so he shot a stream at her. Using Arniel to distract her, he got her attention away from him. It was dead on. In the heart. She fell to the ground, and Pain yelled. ''Konan!'' This was the time. No rest for the wicked. He used Amaterasu on Pain, and he fell to the floor, and looked at Konan. The other four would be easy, and he simply used Spark on them.

When all fell, he went to see how Naruto was doing. And, he was surprised. The animal realm Pain was dead, and Naruto had not a scratch on him. He decided now or never, and he friggin pounced at Naruto, and kissed him. ''You're in for a reward tonight, with the way you handled her so easily.'' Naruto chuckled. ''You know, I killed all six before. Damn fangirls had to go and revive him.'' Shane laughed, and then kissed his love again.

''My god, Naruto. What the hell are you doing to me? You're even going to make me quote a song. 'I used to be Commander and Chief of my Spaceship, flyin high, until this pretty little mister shot me out the sky, now I'm crashin, don't know how it happened but it feels.. so damn good.'' He kissed Naruto. ''Feels so damn good..'' Naruto laughed. He loved this feeling, the feeling where he could just giggle. Shane felt the same. And so they made out, on the ruins of the city. Knowing that they had to hold this moment, for it wouldn't last. They lay with eachother, holding their warmth against eachother, and dreamed that it was all right.

The next day, they started to mobilize. Minato had already gone off to the wars, and so had John. It was just them two, all alone. Finally. They had thought about what to do once the war was over. They were to begin their new life exploring the world, out of human expansion. And, they could be the first to explore the true beauty of the world, and they would start another empire. A beacon for people who don't want the ideals of ninja society. A refuge for people who want to be accepted for whatever, wherever. It would all start there. However, this was the talk for later. Dansho wasn't out of the storm, yet.

They placed a camping spot to rest up for the night, for tomorrow was going to be a big day. Shane decided that before they could move forward, he had to admit. He had to admit.. to his fling with Minato. He only prayed that Naruto would understand, but he knew that he would be mad. He had to, though. How can you truly be in love with someone you don't know? He pondered this, and many things, and decided it was time.

''Naruto.. you know I love you, right?'' Shane said, hoping that it would help him be less mad in the long run. ''Of course, Shane. I'm not that stupid.'' Naruto laughed, and gave Shane a peck. ''Well, sometimes.. Just sometimes, lovers make.. mistakes.'' Naruto was confused, now. ''What do you mean? Did you do something wrong?'' Shane.. he was nervous. He felt prepared to say this, but now he was feeling less and less prepared.

''You see, when you were sick... I was hurt. And weak, and vulnerable. I couldn't give you the love that I wanted to, because you were unable to, so.. Look. What I'm saying, is... I was weak, and worried, and my mind wasn't alright. Nor.. was your fathers. We did things, together. Things.. to keep eachother feeling safe, secure.. not alone. We did things that we shouldn't have done, but we had to. Desperate times call for desperate measures... And I know that now.'' Naruto was shocked, and mad. His eyes widened. His mouth opened.

''You... you.. I thought you were someone I would be proud to stand beside. I thought you were someone that would never forsake me, never touch another, because you were happy with me. I thought you could protect me from the cruel truths of love, but all you do is expose me to them. You.. you have betrayed me. Worse. You have destroyed all of my heart. All of my heart, it was all for you. You took every inch of it. Every inch of my body, it belonged to you. You were mine, and I was yours. But this isn't so anymore. You aren't happy with just me. You can't deal with the fucking strings of a relationship. You... I hate you. I never want to see you again. I'm going back to Konoha, and there is nothing you can do. You wouldn't hurt me, I know that. Good bye, Shane. When the war comes, I won't seek you out. I don't want to see you anymore, and you shouldn't go against that, if you still love me.''

But Naruto was lying to himself. Lying, yet he didn't know. His darker side, his weak link in his soul, was finally arising in power. Naruto had become much stronger will in the presence of Shane, and almost saw him as a role model. He told him he had to be stronger, and now he was doing it. Now he was fighting for himself, and no battle is ever won without a great deal of pain to both sides. However, the true Naruto wouldn't give up. He decided now was the time to show himself the light.

Shane, now sitting in his tent, eyes blank, heard a collapse. He walked outside, and saw Naruto on the floor, with a beautiful knight infront of him. ''Odin.'' Shane said. Saisei was Odin's Knight Commander, a rank higher than Odin's in the Eidolon community, and he knew Odin very well. He was like his little brother. Suddenly, without summon, Saisei leaped out of the bracelet to meet Odin. He gave him a handshake, and then returned. Odin, however, was not gone. This was Naruto's fight, Shane thought. And Naruto could do it.

Naruto knew what was going on. He knew about it all. Shane had told him, and Naruto understood now. He understood that truly, on the inside, he could never not love Shane. When someone with an extremely strong heart becomes lost, Eidolon's help them find themselves. However, it was time to battle.

Naruto entered Sage Mode, and summoned Gamakichi to help him against the horse. Naruto had put wind chakra on his blades, and threw them at Odin. Odin flew up, and came down, cutting the ground beneath him in half with his blade. Naruto evaded, and came up behind him with Rasen Shuriken, but Odin caught it, and jumped up. Naruto summoned for a toad to fall on Odin, and then threw the Rasen Shuriken at Odin. Odin used Ullhr's Shield, and blocked the Rasen Shuriken, but it temporarily broke Odin's shield. Then, Odin began to ride his horse, and tried to shoot wind & lightning strikes at Naruto. Naruto evaded, and then summoned a Kyuubi hand from the ground, that made Odin and his horse fly up in the air, where Naruto threw a Rasen Shuriken. Although Eidolon's could not die, Odin submitted. He realized his master was well fitting, and jumped into the necklace Tsunade had given Naruto. This necklace.... had an Eidolon inside of it?

When he entered Naruto, Naruto's heart felt like it jumped out of him. It hurt. However, he felt different. He felt like he was found.

''I'm sorry, so, so, sorry, Shane. How could I say those things? How could I really consider leaving you? How am I so stupid?'' Naruto put his knees on the ground, and just stared. He didn't know how everything could happen all at once. Why did bad things all decide to come at the worst time possible? Why?

''You're sorry? You shouldn't be. I'm the one who should be sorry. I cheated on you. I did everything wrong. You're not to blame, I am. I love you, so, so, much, and I'll never do this again. I'm.... I'm breaking up with Haru, when he gets back. You're all I want. All I need, I love you so much.'' He gave Naruto a strong hug, and Naruto felt safe. He felt safe for the first time since accepting Shane's proposal, and he liked it.

''You know, the stars are out.'' Shane said, staring out into the sky. ''There is still beauty to be found in this world.'' Naruto said, and gave Shane a kiss. ''I know that, now, Naruto. I know. I had given up on this world, once. I gave up. I tried to make a difference, before I died, and that is when I saw you. From the moment I saw you, I knew that you were my future. I.. I wanted to keep you safe. I wanted to protect you from the truth of this world. I guess I did quite the opposite, huh? Well, maybe it was for the best. It shaped you and I into the strong men we are, and that won't change. People like us need eachother in this world, because we... Naruto.. You and I.. When I...see your face.. when I feel your body against mine, I feel like it'll be all right. You give me hope in this world. Once, I was told a story.'' Shane said, holding Naruto close.

''It was a story about two people, who had lost everything they ever loved, who found more than they could have ever wanted, in each other. They had many hardships, but that only brought them closer, and closer. And, one day, they looked into eachothers eyes, and they saw it. They saw true love. They knew that they were inseparable, and that they would live their life the greatest they possibly could, because they never had to worry. They knew, that when they both died, that they would meet. And they would kindle their love brighter, and brighter with every passing day. It's a story about two men, who truly only needed eachother. Do you want to know their names? Naruto and Shane, Naruto. It's our story. And do you want to know where I heard it from? I heard it from my heart, and your eyes. Your eyes tell me how much you love me. Your eyes tell me that you'd never let me go, and would wish that I would not do the same. And I won't, Naruto. I won't ever leave. You're stuck with me now, Naruto. We are two entities with one heart. And our hearts wish to be connected, so they get closer, and closer to eachother. Naruto, I want.. to show you just how much I love you. I want you to know, over and over again, to what heights I would go. Naruto, I'll do anything for you. So please, I want you to do this. I want you... to by my seme. For this night, you will see just how much pain I'd go through for you.''

Naruto... he cried. He cried because he was so happy. He was the luckiest man in the entire world, to have someone like Shane. He truly loved him, and he knew that Shane had not lied about a single thing he said. It was all true. Shane... this was true love. ''Okay, I'll do it, my love.''

''I'm glad, Naruto. I want for you to be happy. Whatever you want more, is whatever I will do. My love for you.. it makes it so that everytime you touch me, I felt all of the pleasure in the world. I can take this, Naruto. Just do it. Please.'' There was no foreplay, no oral, no nothing. This wasn't about the full extent of sex. This was Shane proving that he would do whatever made Naruto feel better, even if it costed him his own happiness.

Naruto put the lubricant on, and began to masturbate himself, to get himself fully hard. After a bit, he got himself to his full length, and prepared Shane to be penetrated. Shane was somewhat scared, and unsure, but he trusted Naruto. He knew he wouldn't hurt him. And, he couldn't hurt him. Nothing Naruto could do hurt Shane, only make him feel better. Closer. This was a huge step, and Shane knew it. In his heart, he felt at peace. He felt like that if he had Naruto in his arms, he could carry himself to the heavens themself. Then, he noticed a feeling in something more than in his heart. He was being fucked, and it felt good. It was strange that it felt so good to him, but he wasn't confused about what he was feeling.

''More! fuck me faster, Naruto!'' And, Naruto listened. He started to go very fast, so much so that Shane now understood the definition of pounding, and it was bittersweet. Naruto was just as big as Shane, and now Shane knew how Naruto felt sometimes. Naruto kept going faster and faster, and changed positions. He was now sitting under Shane, and having Shane slide on his cock up and down as fast as he could. Naruto liked this position the best, and decided to stay in it for a while. Then, he pushed Shane up against the walls of the tent, put his hand on Shane's cock, and started moving his hand and cock in synchronization. Shane moaned, and turned around to kiss Naruto. It was a passionate kiss, and it made Shane feel like a warmth was emanating from Naruto. He always felt it, somewhat, but the warmth around him kept growing, and growing, and it made him feel so safe. So shielded. He moaned, and kissed his fiance again.

Naruto started going slower, and Shane knew why. Shane had never had Naruto come inside of his ass, and he wondered how it felt. He wondered if it felt was warm as the man himself, and then he knew. ''I'm coming!'' He came, and he loved it. He loved everything that came from that man, and felt the same no matter what it was. Like it was his.

Then, Naruto decided that he wanted for Shane to be happy, too, and turned Shane around, and then himself. ''It's your turn, love.'' He turned his head around, and gave Shane a kiss. Shane was glad that Naruto considered him, and he decided to listen to his love. He entered, and he decided to have some fun with it. He'd go just as fast and hard as Naruto did, and saw how long it would take for Naruto to scream in pleasure. Naruto never screamed in pleasure unless it was like his life depended on it, as he could be shy in bed. His life depended on it.

Shane fucked harder and harder, and he realized that he was going faster than Naruto had ever gone, but he couldn't stop. He kept going faster, and eventually Naruto started moaning Shane's name nonstop. And that drew him over the edge. It had felt so good to hear his name be said like that, and it just made this whole experience even better. Shane came, and Naruto moaned. He moaned, and moaned, and moaned, and said I love you. Truer words were never spoken, and they both knew. It was love, true, true, love. And nothing can break that apart.

The next morning, they were now, finally, getting ready to go off to war. But then it hit Shane.

''Ah, fuck. I'm having trouble walking.'' Naruto giggled. ''Now you know how it feels! My god, I can't either. You were fucking me like a goddamn rabbit.'' Shane kissed his lover. ''Round two?''  
Naruto laughed. ''Hell yeah, and I'm going top again. My god it's fucking good. How come you didn't let me try this before?''

''Because before, things going in and out of my ass scared the shit out of me. But with you, it's like I was being fucked by a god himself.'' This gave Naruto more of an ego. ''Call me a god.'' He said, and laughed. ''A god? That's a fucking understatement. And they said no man could be perfect, pft.''  
Naruto blushed. ''I can be everything and more for you, as you can be for me.'' Shane kissed him again. ''Word of the day: Understatement.''

And, they were off to well, bed. War could wait, but nothing could wait for love.


	30. Brand New Day MIRA

_**A Brand New Day**_

"_Yuko," Itachi whispered, as a hand caressed her cheek, "I…"_

Her eyes shot open as a wave of nauseousness sent her running to the restroom, "Damnit, it was such a nice dream too," she muttered as she staggered out a few minutes later.

She crossed over to her window, opening it to let in some fresh air. A flutter of black feathers flew into the room, and she stared at the small young crow that hopped on her dresser.

"Itachi?" she breathed, and it seemed like the crow gave her a look before he spread his wings and landed on her shoulder, taking a strand of her red hair in his beak.

_He played with the strand of her hair, "Reminds me of fire," he mused quietly as he traced his other hand gently down her body, "I think it's my favorite feature of yours."_

"_Oho, I thought it was my wit that you loved," she teased, pulling him closer as she kissed him._

"_Mmm… favorite _physical_ feature then," he whispered as they parted._

"Is it possible?" she asked quietly, gently scratching the crow's head, "Are you…?"

A gentle peck to her ear was her only answer.

* * *

Mira and Haru stared in shock at the man before them, "Yo…you're…" Mira breathed, she had seen him before, when she was very young…

"_Mama? Da?" the small red-head girl looked through the fire that was burning down her house, small hands trying to lift up the falling timbers, not noticing that the embers weren't touching her. _

_She coughed, the heat may not have bothered her, but the suffocating smoke was. Still, she had to find her parents, she knew they were somewhere, she had heard them fighting before everything had sparked off. _

_She chewed her lip, "Mama, Da? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. Please come back," above her cracked a support beam…_

_There was a flash of yellow, and suddenly she was outside in the cool air looking up at the man that they had attended a ceremony for earlier that week. He smiled down at her, "You seem to be alright."_

"_Mira!" her uncle cried then and ran to pick her up, her cousin Ayame trotting beside him, "Thank you so much Yondaime," he cried hugging the child, "I promise to repay you for this!"_

"_It was nothing, I only wish that I had gotten here in time to save her parents," the blond man had a sorrowful look on his face and knelt down to her, "Little Mira… how did this fire start?"_

_Eyes wide, she shook her head, all she remembered was her parents arguing and then the sparks. "Lord Hokage!" someone shouted, "We found something!"_

_He ruffled her hair and went to see. Later she learned that the fire really wasn't her fault, that someone had threw a bomb in the house as an act of revenge against her father for his battle in Iwa. It was her ability that had saved her._

_But it was the first time she ever had been scared of the fire, the first clue that maybe she should learn to control it._

"Yondaime," she breathed with reverence, "But… how are you alive?"

He grinned at her, "Mira, you grew up pretty well. And I'll have to thank your Uncle. I never imagined he'd keep his promise like that though."

Her eyes darkened, "No one would feed him," she whispered, "I left before he got big enough to really talk to, but Uncle said that there was no way he was just a random child, he looked too much like you… and no one needs to starve," she shook her head, "But that's not important… Yon…"

"Call me Minato, I'm not Hokage anymore," he smiled, "And I know about the war. I was revived to find my son."

"You're not going to take him back are you?" Haru asked.

"Of course not, he's in good hands here," the blond assured him, "Now aren't you two supposed to be in charge of Danshoku's armies?"

Mira crossed her arms, "I left them in very good hands, so don't fret. Though now that you're here, I'm half tempted to hand leadership to you."

He chuckled, "Well, how about I give you some well grounded advice instead."

"That'll do," she said turning back to lead him to the armies.

"I'll catch up," Haru said, "I…" he blushed.

Mira smiled at him, "Go ahead," she said, "Just catch up… and bring that idiot along… before the war actually starts."

He nodded and ran off to find Shane and Naruto.

* * *

Yuko hated feeling useless, she still refused to go to the shelters with Iruka and the small amount of children, instead she reported to her old superior.

"I can still perform medical procedures," she said haughtily. "There's no reason to push me aside because I'm pregnant."

"That's good," Skyler said as the panda that seemed to always be with her poured them both some pink punch, "With this war, we'll need all the medics we can get. But you understand my reluctance to put you on the front lines."

"Then put me in a M.A.S.H." Yuko argued, "The command post isn't that far from here, I'm not so far along that I can't walk there…"

"Alright then, I'm putting you in charge of the field medics, but on the condition that _you_ keep yourself and this baby well and away from danger," she jotted down something on a scroll and sealed it, "Here are your orders and be careful Yuko."

The crow on the red-head's shoulders cawed his agreement.

* * *

Minato was well aware of the wide eyes following him as he made his way across the joint armies to the tent Mira and Gaara had set up as the command post.

He wasn't expecting to see the Tsuchikage. "YOU!" the old man cried, readying an attack as he ran outside the pavilion."Stop," Gaara said quietly as he stepped in between the two other Kages, "You are not so naïve to not know who we were protecting. Is it really so surprising that he was summoned?"

"You speak like you knew I was going to be involved," Minato whistled.

"I have some very good intelligence in Konoha right now," the Kazekage looked him over, "He was right, Naruto does look just like you."

"I keep underestimating you," the old man grinned patting Gaara's back, "You're not like the whippersnappers that run around my village in the least."

Mira smiled, "Thank you for joining our cause Lord Tsuchikage," she bowed, "I apologize for our Lady Yaoikage not joining us as of yet."

"Pshaw, a pretty girl like you never needs to apologize!" he turned his attention to the battle plans, but not before placing a well placed pinch on her bottom, "Now after all this is over, I want to take you out for a night you won't forget!"

Mira only sighed, _Is every old man a pervert?_ She composed herself, and followed the Tsuchikage, missing theflash of anger that passed through Gaara's eyes.

Minato chuckled as he entered the tent after the others.

* * *

Hours passed, and they were no closer to finding an agreement on the battle plans, causing Mira to rub her temples in exasperation.

Shockingly enough, the problem was _Gaara. _She had _never _seen him act like this, he was disagreeing… and _loudly_… with everything the Tsuchikage had said since they entered the tent, and at a few points it seemed that the treaties would simply be dissolved and Iwa and Suna would be at war.

He was almost _childish._ If she didn't know better, she would say that he was throwing a temper tantrum that rivaled one of Karin's.

She was grateful, exceedingly so, that Minato was revived. He was very good at keeping insults down to a minimum and meshing out compromises that the Tsuchikage swallowed.

But it was coming more and more apparent that Gaara needed to be talked to. Mira chewed her lip a moment before standing and clapping her hands, "How about we take a slight recess and reconvene in the morning? I believe that they're not going to attack tonight," here she received a confirmation nod from Minato, "And perhaps seeing this with fresh rested minds would do us some good."

"That sounds like the best idea I've heard all day," the Tsuchikage grumbled as he rose and left the tent.

"I'll accompany you," Minato smiled, "I've been interested in how matters have been with you," he nodded to Mira and Gaara as he followed after the old man.

"Hn," the Kazekage snorted as he turned to leave.

Mira crossed her arms, "Stop _right _there young man."

"Using that tone won't work on me," he growled, "I'm not Karin."

"I couldn't tell from the way you've been acting," she retorted, "What was all of that about?"

He whipped around and walked to her, grabbing her arm, "That bastard had no respect for you," he whispered hotly, "Subordinate or not, you still are the representative of your village right now. He could have started a war."

Her eyes widened, "All of this was over a pinched butt? Gaara… I run a _bar_. And believe me when I say that there are plenty of bi and straight men in Dansho… and a few good lesbians. That's not an act of war, it's an act of a very lonely and horny old man. _You _however almost caused a war five times over."

"I wasn't that bad," he muttered.

"Five times. I counted," she sighed, "I'm flattered and all, but there is a time and place, and war planning isn't it." she chewed the inside of her cheek, "Why'd that get to you so badly anyways? I've yet to see you react so strongly to any flirting Neji receives."

He stared at her for a long moment, his teal eyes showing emotion that she wasn't expecting, "I don't have to worry about losing Neji," he finally whispered.

"You will if you keep worrying about me," it hurt to say this, but she _couldn't _break the two apart, better to break her own heart again, she could handle it.

"He won't," Neji said as he entered the tent, and she stared at him as he turned an amused gaze to Gaara, "We should continue this conversation away from the armies though." he gestured outside and with a small blush Mira realized that they were being watched, mostly by the Danshoku army, but Suna's nin were a bit concerned about their Kazekage's strange behavior.

She swore she saw Matsuri and Sari, who had been cheering when they learned about Neji, apparently they were Yaoi fangirls as well, _glare _at her.

Gaara was blushing, and grabbed both Neji and Mira, whisking them away in sand to a more private location.

"Not gonna escape that easily," Umbra said taking out her video camera, "Even if it's you Ma…" she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder and looked to find Lee shaking his head at her.

"We should go find a private place for our own youth," he smiled.

"Lee-sensei… you don't mean…" her eyes widened.

He blushed, "Umbra-chan…" he leaned down and kissed her, "Let's go celebrate our springtime."

She grinned and grabbed his hands, "This way Lee-sensei!"

The Tsuchikage chuckled as he stood next to Minato, "The boy's gonna have to apologize still, but it's nice to know he's more human than he let's on. Now you're gonna have to tell me of how you got revived."

"Of course Lord Tsuchikage," Minato smiled gently, "But for now, I think we should rest."

* * *

The sand fell away and Mira looked up from where she was gently deposited, giving a very confused stare to Gaara and Neji.

"I'll watch out while you speak with her," Neji said to Gaara, placing a kiss on his cheek and smiling at Mira, "Don't give up so easily."

She stood, brushing away sand from her clothing, "And to think six months ago you were a magic tomato," she shook her head, "You've been officially corrupted laddy-buck."

"I suppose I have," he mused as he left them and she looked around at the makeshift fortress of sand Gaara had erected.

"You should go into architecture," she said turning to him, "I really like the look of this place. Now what's going on?"

Her eyes widened as she was gathered into his arms, "We want a family," he whispered, "We want you and Karin to be part of that."

"Why?" she asked, chewing her lip, "I'm a few years older than you…"

"Neji and I are incredibly mature for our age."

"You already have each other…"

"And now we'll have you."

"You can't possibly love me…" she was interrupted by his lips pressing against hers.

"Since you took me out of Suna that first time," his forehead leaned against hers, "Neji and I discussed this a few nights after we had gotten together, when I admitted to sleeping with Haru, and we spoke of other people," he smiled gently, "We agreed that if we were to build a family, we wanted you…" his eyes saddened, "But you were still married… and suffering from the waiting. I know about the sleeping pills Mira."

"I'll end up breaking you two apart," she whispered, "I can't…"

"You won't, you _can. Stop _being stubborn about this."

Bluish green eyes met the teal and after a long moment she smiled, tears in her eyes as she embraced him, "I want to hear you say it."

"I love you," he whispered into her ear as he held her tightly.


	31. This is Hardly Goodbye SHANE

**This is hardly goodbye.**

They were on their way, finally. They finally felt they were able to run, and so they were. Shane felt a large amount of chakra incoming, and so he gave Naruto the signal to stop.

They waited, and waited. ''Oh, I finally found you guys. Jeez, I thought I'd find you within an hour. My god what took you so long?'' Haru laughed.

''Well, a shit load of things happened, actually. We killed Pain, Naruto got an Eidolon, and we banged each other silly.'' Shane smirked. ''Naruto got an Eidolon? I wanna see!'' Naruto chuckled. ''All right, blue boy. You can see my awesome Eidolon that you don't have.'' Shane laughed, and gave his lover a kiss.

''Blue boy? Since when was that my name? And, wait. Did you say banged 'eachother?' You went.. bottom for Naruto? All the details. Please.'' Naruto laughed. ''Hell yeah, and it was pretty good. And, we even had a second round. Jealous?'' Naruto said, still having an arrogant look on his face. Shane liked it, it was kind of cute.

''Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I'm still stronger than you, Naruto.'' Haru smirked. ''Oh? Wanna bet? You'll reconsider once you see.....this!'' Naruto summoned Odin, and sat on top of his shoulder. ''Jealous yet?'' Haru admitted, he was somewhat jealous.

''Maybe because of you being able to go top, but not that useless Eidolon.'' Odin leaped at Haru, and took a swing. ''Ohoho. You got Odin mad. That isn't good, Haru. He's almost as strong as Saisei.'' Shane summoned Susano'o, and put his shield on himself. Just to be safe, eh?

''Oh bullshit. He doesn't even have a dragon. Just a stupid horse.'' And then, the horse started to almost blow fumes out of its nose. My, Odin didn't like insults. ''Psh, jealousy is very conversational, it appears. Anyways, you might not be jealous now, but I'm afraid you might be in a few moments.''

Shane knew just what Naruto had brought on. That's right. He had to break up with Haru, and this wouldn't be easy. ''Well, Haru. You... know I'm getting married to Naruto, ..right?'' Shane said, shyly.

''Uh, yeah. I've known for a while. Why? You're getting married to him today or something?'' Shane panicked. That was not the case.

''No... I'm not beginning a new life, I'm simply leaving the old one. And... you're my old life, Haru. It must end between us, if me and Naruto are going to be together forever. I'm sorry, Haru. I loved you, and maybe I still do, but I must end this. Now.'' Shane said, and coughed. He felt guilty.

''I...see. So, this is goodbye, then? Goodbye to me, and Hello to your new life?'' Haru looked at the floor, blankly. ''No, this is hardly goodbye. We'll still be friends. Always. And that will never change. You must move on, though. You must find a new love. I've moved on, and so should you. I'm sorry, Haru. All I have ever done was hurt you, and I can't hurt you anymore like this. I am bringing you pain for one, last, time.'' Shane gave Haru a hug, and ran off with Naruto.

''I see.'' Haru said, as they ran. ''I see you leaving me now, but soon I'll see yours and Naruto's head lying on the floor.''

Finally, they caught up to Mira, Minato, and the others.

''Hey, Dad!'' Naruto said, and gave his dad a hug. ''Hey, son. What have you been up to all of this time? You worried me!'' Minato laughed. ''Eh, sorry Dad. I've been with Shane, obviously. We killed Pain! Again! Proud of me, dad?'' Naruto smiled.

''Of course I'm proud of you, Son! And, what did you do afterwards? It has been days. No way you guys were fighting him that long. I know your strength.'' Shane smirked. ''We were banging eachothers asses dry, 'father'.'' Shane said.

''Ah, I knew it. Why do I even need to ask these things? My. Anyways, where is Haru? We sent him after you.'' Minato asked, curiously. ''Shane broke up with him, Dad. He may be taking it hard. You know, crying in the woods and the sort-'' Shane slapped Naruto's shoulder. ''Ow! What did you do that for, teme?'' Minato laughed. ''Now, now. We don't want you two lovebirds fighting. You know, if you feel too much tension is arriving, there is other means of releasing it.'' Naruto blushed.

''Dad, that isn't it!'' Naruto said, embarrassed. ''But, you know. Maybe that is a good idea.'' He whispered to Shane.

''My god, 'father.' You're a genius. Don't mind if we do. Talk to you later, Mira. And, you other guys I hardly know. Oh, and, if you disrupt us, we'll just decide to go even louder for the shits and giggles. Got it?'' Shane laughed. ''Got it.'' Everyone said.

''You here to replace that bitch Yuko? Or her two dead lovers? Which shall it be?'' Madara said, still not trusting the man.

''No. I'm here to help you kill Shane. And I'm here to help you capture Naruto.'' Haru said, with a dark voice.

''Oh? And why is that? I thought that man was your 'lover'?'' Madara laughed. He believed him, oddly. He saw it, in his eyes.

''He broke up with me. I want revenge. Next time we see eachother, which will be soon, I will be his last sight. This was hardly good bye.''


	32. The Coming Storm MIRA

_**The Coming Storm**_

Mira sighed as she watched Shane and Naruto rush off, "Gods he's insatiable at times. I hope Haru's alright though…"

"We should get back to the strategy planning," Minato said, "The Tsuchikage and Kazekage are waiting on us."

Mira nodded and took a step before being grabbed and pulled behind her… into a throng of Gaara's fangirls.

"Well?" Matsuri demanded.

"Um…" Mira looked around nervously, "Well what?"

Sari crossed her arms, "How'd you get to be so high ranking anyways? And we were in his life first!"

"Yeah!" some of the other girls behind her chorused, looking about to riot.

Mira sighed and crossed her arms, "We're about to fight a war… now isn't the time," she glared at them, "And you girls are the ones who ought to be ashamed. You put him up on a pedestal, but have you ever tried just plain being friends with him?"

She turned on her heel and headed to the command tent then, leaving the girls looking very sheepish at each other as she was grabbed by another person and pulled into a tent.

Umbra grinned happily, "How was it?"

"Beautiful, and that's all you're getting out of me right now," Mira said, then looked around, "Looks like you got lucky last night too."

"Mmm-hmm," the purple haired anbu grinned, "Lee was amazing."

She smiled, "Good. I got to get to the strategy meeting, but I'll be back for the girl talk later alright?"

"You better! I want all the details!" Umbra said as Mira waved and left the tent.

Finally, _finally _she got to the command tent and took her seat by Gaara who was speaking with the Tsuchikage on separating their forces.

"We would be able to lure them into a trap and flank them here," he said as he pointed spots out on a map. "The only worrisome thing is whether or not the Akatsuki have joined forces with them… and based on our recent encounters," here he gave a glance to Mira who nodded and stood.

"I've received a message from the interrogation unit that captured one of it's members… they are helping Konoha to retrieve Naruto, though they plan to capture the jinchuuriki himself afterwards. They are also after people that possess a certain type of stone," she chewed her lip.

"They're after the eidolons as well then," Minato said quietly.

"So who has one?" the Tsuchikage demanded, "We need to keep tabs on them so that they don't get captured!"

"Right now there are only three who have been confirmed to be in possession of one… Shane, Naruto, and Mira," Minato folded his hands, "The problem lies in that someone who has an eidolon may not realize it's power until it awakens. It appears to merely be a pretty amulet or gem until that time. But it does seem that the eidolons are unlike the bijuu… they choose who they want to follow and there appear to be no problems with their seals having a negative effect on the user."

"Even so, we cannot risk letting them fall into Akatsuki hands," Gaara said, "I've seen first hand the power that they have."

"Is that it? The red gem?" the Tsuchikage asked, pointing at Mira's necklace.

She nodded, "Unfortunately, Phoenix doesn't have very much information on the other eidolons or where they can be found."

* * *

She was relieved when Shane entered the tent a few hours later and took back over command, as much as she liked working on the strategy, the whole thing was tedious.

_At least Gaara was acting like his calm self again, _she mused as she made her way to the armies kitchens. She had a nagging suspicion on the rations that were being served.

Opening the flap to the mess tent, she sighed, "Damnit, I _know_ I'm not the only one who knows how to cook around here." the food was…grey goop for lack of a better word. She huffed and marched straight back into the kitchen.

"Alright, out!" she said staring down the greasy cook from Iwa, "I'm taking over."

"See what you can do with this crap then," the guy shrugged and moved out of her way.

She smiled and looked around, "Please, you just didn't know what you were doing," she said getting to work.

An hour later the tent flap opened again, and Yuko entered, "I don't suppose…"

"Sit down," Mira smiled, peeking her head out, "And I'll fix up some bento for you to take to the other medics as well."

It was almost like old times, excepting for the upcoming war, as other ninja from the armies started to come in for lunch, pleasantly surprised at the food. Apparently the command meeting was over soon after that, because all of them entered the tent and sat at the center table.

"How can I convince you to come and cook for me?" the Tsuchikage asked as he ate his food, then chuckled at the glare Gaara was sending him, "On second thought, I'd leave you to this whippersnapper."

"I'll make a bento for your return trip to Iwa after this war," she promised smiling, "I'm glad that you enjoyed it."

"Where's the kitchen?" Shane asked, "Naruto and I have got to break it in later."

She sighed and shook her head as she walked away from them. _Exactly_ like old times.

* * *

The sun set, and the watches were set, Mira, being sent off that particular duty since she had taken over the kitchen, happily walked back to her tent for some much needed rest after the past few days.

Though it seemed that tonight wasn't going to be restful, she smiled as she opened the flap and saw Gaara sitting cross-legged as he scribbled letters unto a scroll. Neji was behind him, gently rubbing his bare shoulders.

"I thought you had all the treaties meshed out," she teased as she sat across from them.

"This is a letter to my siblings," Gaara looked at her as he set them down, "I still have to direct things at home."

She smiled and stretched, "Sometimes, I'm glad I only have my bar and Karin to worry about," she looked at the brunet, "I don't suppose I can get one of those after you're done with him?"

Neji draped his arms around Gaara's shoulders, "Only if you brush my hair," he said quietly, "And make us breakfast in the morning."

"I was going to do that anyways," she pointed out as she got pulled into Gaara's lap and snuggled against his chest, "I love how you smell," she murmured, her eyes growing heavy.

The stress of the last few days finally caught up with her and she fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

The blue haired nin adjusted his mask as he looked over the quiet camp, "Cowards," he pulled out his scythe, "They're going to wish that they had never met me."

"Ooo, you're nice and scary now," Aleria grinned as she petted her snake, "To think that you were once that cute little boy."

"He's dead," came the low voice, "And soon _they will be."_


	33. Angry Ex Boyfriend SHANE

**Angry ex boyfriend.**

'' Err, 'father'. You sense something? I think Haru has returned. However, it seems to be that he isn't alone. Another travels with him.. A familiar chakra.'' Shane said, wondering if Haru was okay. Oh he was OK, All right. ''Yes. And, although it is similar to Haru's chakra, it doesn't seem to be him. Perhaps.. a relative? Or, he could be in some sort of form.'' Minato sighed. He didn't like this, but he wouldn't say, 'Oh, I think your boyfriend has come with a partner, to kill us! Hip. Hip. Hooray.'

'' It seems they have sensed us, Aleria. No matter. I expected no less, from Shane, and that Namikaze man. He's going to be a trouble, you know. However, I want you to kill him before Naruto. When Naruto suffers, Shane suffers. And, I want Shane to suffer the most. Take Naruto, and let Shane live. Let him live with his lover dead, and let him wander forever. Take everything from him. '' Haru said, in a warped voice.

''Alright, Haru. So, what about Mira? And Gaara? And, the rest of the folk? They're going to be damn hard to kill. They even have the Tsuchikage.'' Aleria said, worryingly. ''Doesn't matter. You have me, Aleria. Now that I have embraced my darkness, I am stronger than them. Plus, I can easily occupy three of them. Remember my summons? And, you can occupy multiple, using your Hydra.'' Haru said, and smirked.

''Okay, let's go.''

And, they arrived. The moment they saw that he was with Aleria, he knew what was what. ''Tsuchikage, go and take charge on the front lines while we are fighting them. We shouldn't take too long.'' Shane said, and sighed. He couldn't believe it. He was going to fight.. Haru.

''So, 'my love.' You told me, once, that you would die for Naruto. Well, here is your opportunity. Die for him, and prove that you really would. I'm sure you know by know that he doubts you. You're too selfish to die for anyone. Not Naruto, not your brother, not Minato, and not me. You told me once, that I should look out for myself before anyone else, and only the strong survive. And, brava. You've shown that you have taken this to heart. You, with all you could possibly want in the world, still want more. You want more tools to discard, more power to flaunt, more money to spend. But, you never consider what the others have felt. You say you can look into someones eyes, and know, somehow know, what they were thinking. Well, you were wrong. When you broke up with me, I thought of your murder. Yet, you did not catch that? You are a liar, and all of your words are just to help you get in bed with someone. Die, now, and die alone.'' Haru said, and readied his weapon.

''Wait. Haru, you're a fool. I did not look into your eyes, back then. I didn't bother to read you. I knew this day would come, and I'd like to know the truth. I wanted to see what you really thought about me, and now I see. I can't kill you, Haru. But I can't let you kill me, either. You have one more chance. One more chance to leave me, and never return. Aleria, however.. Your show ends now.'' Shane drew his blade, and summoned Saisei, and Susano'o. He didn't merge them together, this time, though. Susano'o would protect him, and Saisei, Arniel, and Naruto's Odin would fight the skeletons. This fight was planned from the second he broke up with Haru, and he would make this short. Mira and Gaara would fight Aleria, and he knew they could do it.

''Summoning: bloodline limit; Gaikotsu Dairokkan.'' And, four skeletons arose from the ground. They looked powerful, but nothing that the knights couldn't handle, yes? Minato flashed to Haru, and caught his arm. Haru smirked, and shot out bones from the ground. Then, he sacrificed one of his skeletons, and used its energy to heal his arm. He then summoned another skeleton, and it proceeded. However, he noticed that the skeletons had to come from real bones, from the ground, so this couldn't go on forever. Eventually, the number of corpses would run out, and then they would get him. They had to.

''Summoning: Hydra!'' And then, and armored, huge 8 headed snake arose. It had swords as tongues, and looked fierce. He noticed symbols on each of the snakes heads. Fire, Wind, Ice, Water, Earth, Lightning, Poison, and Human. Minato decided he could lend a little aide. He summoned Gamabunta, and sent it after the Hydra.

''So, now that all of our summons are occupying themselves, why don't we get this show on the road?'' And then Haru dissapeared, and popped up behind Minato. However, Minato was probably the fastest of them all, and dodged it, then flashed behind Haru, and hit him with Rasengan. Haru was pushed back, and managed to escape the enlarging orb. He smirked. He had used some bones as a shield to protect him from any real damage after the initial hit, and then started to summon lower level skeletons. These skeletons seemed to be alot weaker, and may have been for distraction purposes. However, this proved wrong. A skeleton jumped on Naruto, and then the rest of the skeletons flew down in synchronization, their blade aimed at Naruto.

It was only a substitute, however. ''Good boy, Naruto. I've been teaching you well, eh?'' Shane laughed. ''Oh, psh. That's something I could do when I was twelve.'' Naruto smiled. ''Twelve? I could do it at seven.'' Shane smirked, embarrassing Naruto. ''Um, no time for chatter, fools. You're in a damn battle. Take me seriously!'' Shane sighed.

''No rest for the wicked, eh?'' He wouldn't take the crap anymore. He needed Mira and Gaara's help to cut this shorter, so he decided to kill the Hydra ASAP. He'd use a combination he hadn't used in a while, and would see if it'd kill the beast.

''Amaterin.'' A giant lightning beast, Kirin, appeared, alongside a visual of the goddess Amaterasu. They struck down together, and burned the Hydra. Then, Shane used Shinra Tensei, and smashed the burning Hydra into a ball of shocking flames. And then, he transported it to another dimension. The ball had took a large portion of the area, and with that lost portion, he lost alot of potential bones. Haru swore. However, Shane was now running low on chakra, and only had enough left to sustain Susano'o, Saisei, and Arniel, plus one Kirin. It would be his last, so he had to make it extra powerful. And, he'd use it to fry Aleria. He didn't want to kill Haru.

''Mira, can you have phoenix shoot a fire dragon into the sky?'' Shane said, warding off Haru with his Susano'o. ''Sure thing, Shane. Phoenix, do as he says.'' Mira said, loudly. ''Okay, Mira! Here I go!'' And then she shot a large, flaming stream, modeled to look like a dragon, into the sky. This would give him enough energy to use a very powerful Kirin, and kill Aleria. He started charging up, and had Naruto and Minato defend him.

''Go, Kirin! Heavenly lightning!'' It struck down, and hit Aleria, directly. She tried to shield herself from it using Manda, but she died either way. Now, it was only Haru left, and he couldn't face five on one. He had to retreat.

''Alrighty, Cya darling!'' Haru said, and ran off. ''Wait.'' Naruto said, and summoned a Kyuubi hand to hold Haru back. Naruto decided to let Shane speak, and so he did. ''Come again, and I must.. I'll have to kill you, Haru. Please, just don't do this to yourself. Don't stay in Akatsuki. Flee, and find a new life, somewhere else. I'm not the only fish in the sea. Please, Haru. Prove to me that you aren't the bad man I am. Prove to me that your words are not mere hypocrisy, and leave.'' Haru stared at the now silent man.

''No, I don't care what you say. I'll be back, and next time, next time, I'll make you pay. Pay for what you have done to me, and everyone else. Nothing you say can suade me.'' And he left, lying to himself, and others, that he didn't take what Shane said. But, he did. He took it, and it hurt. He was fighting himself, and it was a war he could only lose, it appeared.

''My god. Now we are fighting Akatsuki, Konoha, and Iwa, and... an angry ex boyfriend.''

They all sighed, and decided to lie down for tonight. Tomorrow would be their first battle, no matter what. No more distractions, this was it.


	34. Cry to Heaven MIRA

_**Cry to Heaven**_

Mira wanted to cry, what in the world had happened to her caring friend that had helped her build up the bar, had comforted her when Kei disappeared, had taken so much care of Karin…

"Haru," she whispered, "Come back to us."

"Something's seriously wrong," Gaara said as he touched her shoulder, "But worrying about it now won't help," he walked away then, to give orders to his own army, to see the damage done.

Her chest ached and she wanted nothing more to be held and told that it would be alright. When she had been awakened and called out to battle, the world had seemed to end. To her, Haru's betrayal was a more serious matter than this war.

It actually hurt more than Kei's.

Neji had caught up to her, along with Umbra and Lee, "Mira… was that…" Umbra asked with wide eyes.

"It was," she said, clenching her fists, then took a deep breath. They were still ninja, this was still a war, "Let's set-up a better watch. They hit too quickly for me to be comfortable, we need to see where the weak points in our defense are."

Neji nodded, "Lee and I can take care of that. Haru was your friend, you two should rest."

Mira's eyes widened as a plan struck her, and before Umbra started arguing against Neji's suggestion of rest, she grabbed the purple haired nin, "Come on, let's go make the report to Lady Yaoikage," she said, pulling her partner behind her as she headed to the hawks.

"We should be checking the perimeter as well…" Umbra started.

"I have a better idea," Mira said as she sealed the real message inside the encrypted scroll and tied it to the hawk's leg. She smiled, this was one of the more ingenious tricks that Danshoku utilized, anyone other than the Yaoikage herself that intercepted that message would be greeted with a picture of the sexual fantasy that scared and grossed them out the most.

The Yaoikage would see her personal favorite one, _and _whatever message was being sent as she drooled over it.

The hawk flew away, "You want to go after him?" Umbra asked.

"We have one of theirs as a prisoner. Considering he still may have secrets the Akatsuki may not want us to find out, they'll want him back."

"Or they could just kill him," her partner pointed out.

"No, they want him alive," Mira chewed the inside of her cheek, "Only two people know all there is to possibly know about eidolons and how to wield their power. All those experiments were based on those legends, Shane and I both got our stones from them. I have a feeling the Akatsuki are going to want Kei back."

* * *

Dyzzi's response came quicker than she expected, the Yaoikage arrived at the camp the next day, and after her initial greetings to the other kages, she pulled Mira aside, "Are you sure about this?"

"Fairly," the red-head chewed her lip, "It makes logical sense at least."

"I'll go with her!" Umbra volunteered, "To ensure her maiden heart does not get broken by him again!"

"I can't risk sending anyone else," the Yaoikage shook her head, "And I'm not entirely happy about one of my best leaving the front lines, but the fact of the matter is that if you succeed this will weaken them immensely. Your primary mission is to use Kei to get in the Akatsuki hide-out and gather information, your secondary one is to try and save Haru. Mira, good luck. Kei is with the prisoner unit that came with me," she stared hard at the red-head for a moment, and Mira was almost afraid that she would change her mind.

Finally she sighed, "Dismissed!"

* * *

She left quickly, without telling anyone. It was lunch before the others discovered her gone, mostly due to the fact that the entire camp had reported to the mess tent to find Neji manning the kitchen.

"Where is she?" Gaara asked as he took him aside.

"Umbra wouldn't tell me when I asked, only that she had a mission," Neji sighed, "I have a bad feeling it…"

"Um… Lord Kazekage?" a small voice sounded.

They turned to see Matsuri and Sari standing there, and for all their shy awkwardness they were showing, he hinted their bliss at the news they had, "What?"

"That woman just released the prisoner and left with him," Neji's eyes narrowed at the smug undertone Matsuri had, "They seemed to be heading in the direction the attacker from last night came from.

"She must be going to betray us. Rumor has it that those two…" Sari started, but her voice trailed off as Gaara walked past her, "Lord Kazekage?"

"I am never to hear either of you speak evil of Mira again," he said quietly as his sand trailed out of the gourd and came dangerously close to snapping their necks.

Gulping, both girls nodded and vanished from the tent.

"She knew we would have stopped her," Neji supplied, "That's why she didn't tell us. And she's ANBU, she knows the risk."

"I'm going to speak with Dyzzi and find out exactly what the mission was and then see if I can somehow arrange for back-up. I'm certain that ass will try and play with her emotions again."

Neji nodded, and went to get back to work, a worried smile on his face as he watched the Kazekage leave the mess hall.

* * *

Mira found it surprisingly easy to ignore Kei as she sped closer to the Akatsuki hideout.

Of course that might have been due to the duct tape covering the ass's mouth.

She flattened herself to look at the small hamlet the Akatsuki were hiding in, and then turned to undo Kei's bindings, "You're going to get me in there."

"And exactly what makes you think I'll do that?" he spat as she removed his gag.

"You owe me," she smirked, "If nothing else, you have to admit that. Now how do I get in?"

"That's not very convincing," he stared at her.

"No it's not. Luckily Skyler stuck you with a poison before we left. I have the antidote of course, but I'll only give it to you if I get into their hide-out unnoticed," she crossed her arms.

"You're bluffing," his voice was nervous though, Skyler did do some blood work when he was being interrogated it was entirely plausible that she had introduced some poison to him.

"Perhaps… feeling _sparkly_ Kei?" the glint in her eyes made her usually demure smile almost evil. She was enjoying this almost a bit too much.

Almost.

"N…no," he whispered, "Not…" he grabbed her apron, "I'll cooperate… just give me…"

"Good," she smiled.

* * *

"What do you mean by not my business," Gaara growled.

"Because it's not," Dyzzi sighed, "She's on a mission specifically for me. And just because you two have had a romantic development… good going by the way, she needed to get laid… does not mean I have to tell you what my ANBU is up to."

He couldn't argue with Dyzzi, mainly because she was right, Mira was on a mission and he was not her Kage, he had no business interfering.

He chewed the inside of his cheek, rather annoyed. Dyzzi folded her hands, "Soooo? Details! I heard you threw a temper tantrum and all."

He flushed crimson, "I did not!"

"Gods you _are_ still a kid," the Yaoikage chuckled, "And easy to tease. I'm gonna have so much fun with you."

* * *

Mira flattened herself against the wall, avoiding the guards before sprinting across the hall. _So far so good, _she smiled as she made her way up into the rafters. _Now where did Kei say the main meeting place was?_

Using chakra to adhere herself to the ceiling, she crawled through the support beams, heading deeper into their hideout, completely unaware of the plant man following her.

Her head whipped around, she could have sworn she felt a spike of chakra, but nothing was there. Her eyes darted across the room, and hearing footsteps, she hid herself over a beam, peeking down.

The blue haired nin entered the room, and she saw the emerald eyes glint as they looked up at her.

"Little mouse come down," he said, flexing his fingers.

Bones wrapped themselves around Mira and brought her crashing down to the ground, "Haru…" she whispered, wincing at the pain, "This isn't you."

"You're right. Haru's dead, I'm Sin," from behind the mask she could tell that he was grinning, "Were you trying to retrieve him? No… Dyzzi wouldn't have wasted one of her ANBU for that, you were sent to get information." he held the blade of his scythe to her neck, "Weren't you?"

"I won't argue what Lady Yaoikage's mission was, but mine was to find you," she narrowed her eyes, "I already have to tell Karin about Kei… don't make me tell her that her Uncle Haru is gone too."

Those words seemed to weaken his resolve, but only for a second. The emerald eyes narrowed and she felt a blunt hit to the back of her head as the world darkened.

"Tell Madara we have an eidolon," Sin said as her eyes closed.

Behind him Kei smirked, "Of course."

* * *

"Lady Yaoikage…" Umbra said quietly as she entered the command tent, "There's a message for you… from the enemy…"

Dyzzi looked up as the purple haired kuniochi gave her the thick envelope, noting the worried look in her eyes, "Don't be like that. It's probably…" her voice trailed off as she opened it and pulled out the thin braid that was made up of what used to be Mira's skinny ponytail.

"What does the message say?" Gaara asked, his sand betraying his emotions as they swirled chaotically around him.

Her face paled, "What do you think? They want us to give up…"

Shane's face darkened, "Why'd you let her go on such a stupid mission anyways?"

"I can send clones," Naruto supplied, "You guys could get her out while I'm…"

"Or I could disguise myself," Minato mused, "You really can't tell us apart."

"Not until either of you open your trap," the Tsuchikage muttered.

"No," the others turned to the Kazekage who was clenching his fists as he willed the sand to calm down, "We can't risk even a single person to try and save her."

"B…but Gaara," Umbra started.

"She would say the same thing," he closed his eyes, "It was a risky move she made, one because she was worried over her friend. We can't betray her trust by sending anyone else into danger. We have to…" his voice faltered, "we have to leave her. They want us to react to this, it's a trap." Quickly standing, "Excuse me a moment," he left the tent, desperately needing air.

It was night, the stars were already out as he looked up, taking a large breath as he attempted to calm himself.

"She would also say not to abandon her friends," Minato said gently as he joined him outside, "I know you have to put your Kage duties first, but for once maybe you should think about what you want."

"This coming from the man who sealed the Kyubbi in his son?" Gaara muttered darkly.

"Ouch, I guess I deserved that," the blond chuckled, "But if I didn't my village would have been destroyed much earlier. And I knew that Naruto would be strong enough… you should have met Kushina, she was the strongest person I ever met…" he sighed, "I didn't want to sacrifice another of my citizens for my own duties. Perhaps that how Mira felt, she didn't want to sacrifice Haru, not when there was a chance, no matter how small, of saving him."

Teal eyes widened and slowly Gaara smiled, "I would have hated to gone against you."

"Really?" Minato scratched the back of his head, "I get that a lot for some reason."

"We still can't risk trying to rescue her," the Kazekage said bitterly, "In this case it doesn't matter what I want. They get Naruto, the world ends."

Minato had no wise words for that statement, and said nothing, retreating into the command tent before any of the moisture in Gaara's eyes could fall, leaving the stars above the only witness as the red head cried hot tears.


	35. No Good Comes Without a Bad SHANE

**No Good Comes Without a Bad**

Three months. It's been three months, and nothing has happened. Konoha is attempting to rally allies, and, failing miserably, but, they haven't tried all of the villages, yet. Yuko is 4 months pregnant, and isn't able to fight.

''So, Shane. How much do you wanna bet that today will be the day that something noteworthy happens?'' Naruto asked.

''Naruto, we have played this game every day for the past two months, and you've lost every time. And every time, you bet You go bottom if you lose, and I go bottom if you win. Do you really want to go top THAT bad, Naruto?'' Shane chuckled.

''Why, yes, I do. And, this time, I'll win. Plus, it isn't like I don't actually really enjoy being bottom, anyways. I just like being top, more.'' Naruto smiled.

''My god, Naruto. I should've never let you go top. Now, you want to do it everytime. How about this. If Konoha attacks today, you can be top every day for a month. But if they don't, you go bottom for the rest of the month, and you can't make this silly bet anymore. Deal?'' Shane smirked.

Minato flashed to the two men, and had a grim look on his face. ''Konoha is coming. They're already within 10 miles of Dansho. We must move out. Now.'' Naruto smiled. ''Deal.''

''Alright! I want everyone to split up into six groups. Group Uno, Dos, Tres, Quattros, Cinque, and Sei. We will surround the village, and attack it from all sides. Kill everyone, but make sure you don't kill Naruto, or Minato. If anyone kills them, we will kill all of your family and friends. Understood?'' Danzo said, darkly. ''Yes, understood.'' Everyone spoke.

''Alright, then. Move out, for this is Danshokugakure's last night!'' And, everyone began to run to their positions.

''Alot of them are already within 5 miles. You know what to do, Naruto. Now that you have your Eidolon, your chakra has increased even more. Can you use 10 Rasen Shuriken to cut off the first wave of enemies?'' Shane asked, almost pointlessly. Of course he could.

''Yes, but I won't have much chakra left unless I use sage mode. Give me two minutes to charge up a sizable amount.'' Naruto said, proudly.

''Alright, Naruto. But finish sooner if you can. Two minutes, and they'll only be 4 miles outside of Dansho. That's rather uncomforting.'' Shane smiled.

''Okay, I'm ready! I'm sorry, Konoha, but you have to face Uzumaki wrath!'' And then, he jumped into the air, summoned 19 clones, and started creating the Rasen Shurikens. Within about 5 seconds, they were ready, and he carefully threw them to where the front lines were moving.

All hit at the targeted area, and the enemy suffered great casualties. But, then, their sensei appeared. Shane knew he would be nearly impossible for Naruto to beat, as his style would make Naruto's skills useless, so he lured him away from the area.

''So, you're here, eh? Welcome back, Sensei. I'm sorry I have to cut this short, and, I'm even more sorry now, because I'm going to have to cut more than our conversation.'' He pointed at his Sensei's head.

''Who knew you'd be killed by your own student, Eh? I'm sorry, teacher, but your village is being led to tyranny. Collective Security must be used, and we will... We will have to destroy Konoha. Sucks how your attack backfired, huh? You wanted Naruto back, to once again increase your power, but you end up losing it. Losing it all. Danzo thinks he is smart, but he is really a fool. As are all of you to follow him. This ends now.''

Shane flashed to his sensei, and caught him in the shoulder, before he jumped back. ''You know, Minato is quite a good teacher. Thanks for giving him to us, eh? He's the yellow flash of the leaf, and soon I'll be the yellow flash of Danshokugakure.''  
His sensei didn't bother to talk. He knew it wouldn't change anything. He summoned his puppets, and enclosed Shane into his whirlpool. This time it was different, as everything seemed to be swimming around the center. It was sucking him in. At the center lay a Kamui. This... was like an event horizon. However, his puppets didn't get pulled at all, and there was a much larger amount this time. Five hundred. The pool itself was about the size of Sunagakure, and the closer to the center, the more wild the current was. He had to get out of there. He tried using spark, but it didn't work. No lightning techniques seemed to.

He used Susano'o, and then Saisei. However, he didn't merge them. Saisei put an advanced Ullhr's shield around them, and Susano'o shot arrows. Shane found most of the shark puppets, and summoned a bunch of wolf shaped Amaterasu's to go after them. Once they were disposed of, he called for Arniel to fly them out, where Shane shot a Chidori Stream into the whirlpool. All puppets were shocked into destruction, and his teacher was vulnerable.

''I'm sorry, teacher. I'm such an ingrate, I know... but, this will be the last of our student teacher reunions. I'll miss the old days, when you and I used to have ice cream, and you'd seem to grab my butt every 5 minutes, 'on accident', of course. I'll miss them alot. I'd love for you to join us, but I can see it in your eyes. You don't have any regrets. You'd never betray Konoha. Your beloved Konoha. My beloved Konoha. Good bye, sensei.'' And as Shane drew his sword, his sensei interrupted.

''Wait.'' He said. ''Hm?'' Shane said, confused. Hoping he'd say, 'wait, I want to join you guys.' ''Wait, I need to do this one, final, time. Please, Shane. Please, my student. You've grown, into such a man that I am so proud to have teached. To think you have so far surpassed me. Please, allow me to do this...'' He stood up, and gave Shane a hug. He kissed him on the lips, gently, and then Shane felt a little squeeze down there...

''Ha ha. A pervert, even in your last moments. Sensei, are you sure you won't join us? Are you sure you have to die here?'' Shane said, with a distraught look. ''Yes, my student. I couldn't betray Konoha, no matter how much I care for the person requesting of it. I'm sorry, my student. Care to at least join me in my tent before we end this? I'd like to die on a good note.'' He smiled. Shane laughed.

''I'm sorry, teacher, but I'm going to have to say no to that. I'm in love, and as handsome as you are, I couldn't betray him. Plus, he's quite handsome himself.'' Shane blushed. His sensei was still smiling.

''I see, Shane. In love with the Jinchuriki? Yes, he's quite the handsome fellow, isn't he? I hope you find happiness together, I really do. I hoped I could be there to all of my students weddings, but it seems I can't. Or, maybe I can. I'll try, try my hardest, to watch over you. Until we meet again, my student.''

Shane cried. He missed the old days, but he couldn't reminisce. Now wasn't the time. ''Good bye, teacher. You must know this, though. I love you, like a father. I always have, and that won't change. You know, you'd get along well with Minato. I wish I could introduce you two.'' Shane smiled.

''Ah, well, I'm sure you two will get 'more acquainted' in your lifetime. No matter how far in love, you know Shane, that your dick always seems to find a new place to enter. If only it found its way into me, Eh?'' He laughed. Shane stabbed his heart. He slapped Shane's ass, and then held it tightly with both hands. He fell to the ground, and Shane fell with him. And then the rain came, and washed away Konoha's filth. They retreated, and it had been hours since. Finally, Naruto came to check on Shane. He saw him crying on his sensei, with his head on his shoulder, both of them lieing down in the mud. He was sorry for Shane. This all had made him lose so much. He'd have to make it up to him, He'd just have to.

''Shane... let's return to the village, okay, love?'' Naruto smiled, and reached out his hands.

''Oh, Naruto. Okay. I'm sorry for not returning, I just... I just had alot of things to think over. Let's go, then.''

When they returned, people were celebrating. ''First battle with Konohagakure, was a victory!'' Shane & Naruto smiled.

They went up to their bedroom. ''You know, that's one month of me being an absolute seme. No seme-ing for you.'' Naruto smirked.

''My god, why did I do that bet? Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?'' Naruto laughed at the man.

''You're so cute when you are in regret, you know that?'' Naruto smiled.

''Naruto, I'm always cute, and so are you.'' Shane kissed the boy.

''My, quite confident, aren't we? However, I concur on this hypothesis. However, if we just added a little bit of my dick in your ass, the velocity of the cuteness would rise 12%, but would hurt at an increased rate of 200%.'' Naruto put on glasses, and chuckled. ''Where did you get these, anyways, Shane? I didn't know you had sight problems.''

''I don't, but I thought, that maybe, they could come in handy some day. Who cares, man.'' Shane stuck out his tongue.

''Psh. Gettin a bit sassy with me, eh? I'll have to make sure to punish you a little bit more in bed, my dear.'' Naruto smiled, making Shane blush.

''Tch, fine. Let's get this over with, then. Go add your increased rates and all that shit, and I'll conclude that my hypothesis is correct either way, but I'd like to increase my success rate.'' Shane laughed, and shaped glasses around his eyes with his fingers. Him and Naruto kissed, and Naruto began to take down Shane's pants. When the pants dropped... so did Naruto.

''Naruto! Oh, shit. That's right, that sickness. Didn't Yuko get rid of it? What the hell happened?'' He swore, and ran Naruto off to the hospital. Why could things never go right?

''Yuko! Naruto collapsed, again! I think it's burning blood!'' Shane said, in a loud voice.

''I.... I knew this would happen. I knew I couldn't suppress it forever, but I didn't want to worry you. Hold on, let me charge up chakra. Let him take these, until then. They are pain killers so strong, that they should numb the pain. She handed him a bottle of Oxycontin, and went into her office, and began charging her chakra.

''Naruto, take these. I'll get you a glass of water.'' Shane laid Naruto down on the bed, and got a couple glasses of water, just in case he needed more later. ''Drink, Naruto. And swallow these with the water.'' He handed him two pills, and Naruto swallowed. They sat for a few minutes, Naruto still having that pained look on his face, and then it stopped.

''Wow, these are really helpful. I feel a little bit hot, but that's it.'' Naruto smiled. He was happy that he didn't have to endure the pain for hours like last time.

''Well, I'll go check on Yuko. I'll be right back.'' Shane shut the door.

Naruto felt soo good when he took them. He just needed a little bit more. He took two. And after that, two. Two more, then. And after those two, he realized he could die if he took any more, so he stopped. For an hour. He took another two after that hour. An hour later, two more. My god. He was addicted. Really, really addicted. And, it didn't help that he had a bottle of pills with him.

''Alright, Naruto. I've charged enough energy into this, so that it will protect you for a year. No more pain pills, though, as every batch in your system should decrease the amount of time this will last by about a month. Alright?'' Naruto smiled. ''A-All rite, sur. Hehee excuz muh unglush, I'm kinduh drowzi, maayun.'' Shane laughed. My he was cute. He was cute until he vomited blood all over the floor, and had his heart rate at 50. He was cute until he had to have all of the doctors rush in, and start advanced treatment immediately. It was cute until he was dancing with death.


	36. Can I Be Happy Now? MIRA

_**Can I Be Happy Now?**_

Mira leaned against the wall in her cell, trying desperately to keep her thoughts together. Phoenix's calm voice helped, but the past few months had wrecked their havoc on her. She was dangerously thin, and her already pale skin had lightened even more. Circles had formed around her eyes, and her crimson hair was unbrushed and matted as it drifted scraggily around her face.

The door to her cell door opened and she was grabbed by harsh hands and dragged to the contraption that they had been taking her to since her capture.

Because of it, Phoenix seemed to be getting weaker. But Mira hardly could move anymore, let alone fight as they strapped her in.

First was the daily medical examination, done by Kabuto.

"Your body is healing from that trauma nicely," he smirked, "Good. We need you alive for this."

Her eyes hardened as she glared at him. A month ago he had informed her, laughing the whole time, that she had suffered a miscarriage.

When the time came to power the machine, she tried to overload it, pouring every bit of chakra she had into it, somehow trying to take it and her out of existence.

It almost worked. Sparks flew, and she was injured and close to death.

But the contraption still stood, and they came for her the next day, her strength too low to even walk. They still strapped her in.

Once again, she wondered what it was that this machine _did_. All she and Phoenix could fathom was that it was something that would combine the eidolons, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out how. There _were _nine different compartments, and she saw Kei's green stone in one, glowing as it stood in the machine, a blackened body behind it.

If Kei wasn't the one that dragged her to this room every morning, she would assume that the body was his.

The medical examination over, Kabuto retreated, but not before placing the stone Phoenix resided in into the alcove in her compartment as Mira was pushed in, still strapped down.

She didn't even have the energy to scream in pain as the machine roared to life.

* * *

Yuko bit her lip, the injured kept coming in, and there seemed to be no end in sight. And if that wasn't bad enough, Naruto was still in critical condition.

Shane hadn't left his side, holding the jinchuuriki's hand as Minato looked sorrowfully on. When Umbra came to deliver the message that there was to be yet another attack today, Shane simply stared at her a moment, before turning back to Naruto.

"I'll go," Minato said clenching his fists, "Somehow I'll protect you both." he left then.

Yuko stared quietly after them as the older man left. She took a vial of Naruto's blood and checked his vitals, "His heart rate is improving," she said quietly. When Shane didn't answer, she took the vial and went to test it.

The crow cawed at her from his perch in the supports of the tent, and she looked up, giving a very small smile. "You were always cheering me up," she said quietly, "Even when we first met…" she shook her head, trying not to think of how she had left Kiri, how she had joined the Akatsuki…

She wondered that if she had never returned from that mission at that time and never found out the truth of Madara controlling the Mizukage, the event that forced her life into this direction.

Would all of this had happened?

The baby moved and she stopped, "Of course," she said, shaking her head. Life went on, despite all the injustices of the world.

Somehow, she would try to save everyone. She owed that much to these people that had taken her in when she had been stranded in Kumo. Granted it was for a mission that she had healed them.

But they didn't have to treat her as they did, making her feel like part of a family again. Somehow she would repay them, now that she had finally cut all ties with Akatsuki.

For now she would have to simply save Naruto.

* * *

Gaara's eyes widened as he received the report from Temari, then he grabbed the nearest shinobi, "Take this message to the Yaoikage and Tsuchikage… I need to speak with them now."

Dyzzi and the old man came running a few moments later, "We're about to go into the fight," Dyzzi exclaimed, "They're on the move now."

"It's a faint," Gaara said, pointing on a map, "The real threat is here where the Akatsuki base is," he looked up, "My spy sent word that Danzo has commissioned a weapon from them. And based on the information, he received, it's supposed to be able to have more destructive power than five bijuu. They plan on using it today."

"What?" Dyzzi said, "B…but…" she clenched her fists, "Where the hell would they get anything like that?"

"The eidolons," the Tsuchikage mused, "You whippersnappers are too young to have heard the stories, but there was an ancient weapon that used the power of the gods. The stories are older than those of the sage of six paths."

"It stands to reason that if Mira is still alive," Dyzzi chewed her lip, "She's in that thing acting as the battery.""If it uses eidolons, it won't be at full power until they're all found. But even so, we should be careful," Gaara pointed to places on the map, "If we attack from these points, we could flank them, perhaps destroy this thing before they get a chance to accumulate any more of them."

The other Kages nodded.

* * *

Mira gasped in pain as the machine started to move. Vaguely she became aware of voices outside the contraption.

"…attack now…test…at…destroy Dansho…" she could only make out snippets of the conversation.

_Is Karin alright? What of Gaara and Neji? Or Umbra? _

The straps tightened against her and suddenly she was in more pain and all she could see around her were flames.

From the top of the contraption two masses of chakra complied into a single beam and shot out.

From where he stood, Madara smirked beneath his mask, "And that's with just two."

* * *

Far away in Danshoku, the streets were still empty, everyone still safely in the shelters.

The beam of light hit, blasting everything it touched.

Iruka rubbed his eyes as he looked from his vantage point in the shelters. "My gods…"

Danshoku laid in flames, he looked back at the small group of children he was watching over, hoping they didn't see…

"What's wrong Uncle 'Ruka?" Karin asked, "What was that sound?"

He said nothing, just pulled the children close together, "We need to stay in here a little bit longer," he bit his lip and reached the door, pulling it shut, _Later. I'll tell them all later._

* * *

"Well now we now what it does," Gaara said darkly as he received the reports from the runners, that day's battle hadn't gone well, Skyler, Yuko and the other medics had another multitude of wounded to tend to, and they were no closer to reaching that weapon, instead his team made a forward camp a good deal closer.

They might as well been on the moon. There was a wall of bones surrounding the place, and not even his sand was getting through.

He closed his eyes. Luckily the people in the shelters were safe, they only had to rebuild when this was all over. He worked out calculations of the supplies he could send to them.

Not much longer… this couldn't go on. Somehow this had to end and soon.

* * *

Mira was thrown back into her cell, more exhausted than she had been from any of the previous extractions.

She leaned her head against the wall to tired to even sleep. She placed a hand on her abdomen and stared out the high window, vaguely seeing the stars.

Phoenix, much much weaker now, whispered soothing words. Mira wondered if they were more for her comfort or for the bird-maiden's.

_Do I even have a home to go to now?_


End file.
